You Owe Me
by Lolligaggin
Summary: Completed. AU. At first it was a favor. Ino Yamanaka didn't know that growing up meant dealing with all this. Sometimes stumbling upon a nuisance isn't always a bad thing. NarutoXIno.
1. The Encounter

Disclaimer: I deny any and all claims to own Naruto, because I uh…don't?

A/n: I have too many new ideas and I wanted to spill them all out before I forgot any of them. Basically it's a NaruIno because I absolutely love them together.

Ino threw the empty box behind her, content to know that it was the last of the some thirty boxes that implicated most of her lifestyle. Grinning, she marveled at the way her room was aligned. "Done! DONE! YES!" She jumped, running out of the room and past the kitchen that meshed with the living room. Placing her hands on her hip, she smiled.

It was a happy feeling to know that she had now officially moved into her one bed-room apartment.

It had taken convincing from her parents as well as patience to come up with the money, but by the age of eighteen Ino Yamanaka was able to move out of her parent's home. Although they were relatively close, fifteen minutes away to be exact, Ino was happy to know that she was taking a stride towards that voyage of womanhood.

The blonde haired glanced out of her window, seeing the rain begin to pitter and patter against the glass. She sighed, rubbing her stomach as the growls soon followed. "I'm so hungry, but I didn't even manage to get groceries." Grimacing at her idiocy she grabbed her umbrella and was determined to walk through the rain.

Uzumaki Naruto strolled silently through the empty streets, his eyes focused towards the concrete. He mentally counted the number of cracks on the floor, apparently bored. While the rain spilled into his hair, dripping against his cheeks, he chose to ignore such and continue about in his pace. Besides, what was the point? The thought of rain never come to mind, and so an umbrella was left forgotten. A little thing like rain wouldn't ruin his day.

He sighed, kicking the pebble out of vision. His attempt to win Sakura failed miserably, as always. And she made it a dark effort to have it established that she had no romantic feelings for him. Again. Sigh.

He'd always ignore it, always ignore the fact that she had only friendly love towards him, in that sense he was ignorant. Yet today, in front of a crowd he had so boldly stated his love in front of, she had condemned him in her reprimand. In a way, he knew it was wrong to nourish off of Sakura's pain, as she was also in despair because of Sasuke. He and Sakura were one and the same.

That was when an apple caught his sight, ending his trail of thought. He glanced northward, eyeing the trail of fruits that carried on in front of him. Grabbing at the drenched fruit, Naruto wrinkled his nose at the strange sight.

"What? What's with all these fruits?" He asked, his vision following the trace of fruits, until it had indeed stopped at a young woman. He caught sight of the blonde hair protruding from the dark jacket as he smiled. Not that Jiraiya's perversion of woman had become a characteristic to the now adult Naruto, but at the fresh age of eighteen it was safe to say that his hormones have kicked in.

For Ino, it wasn't an easy task to concentrate on holding two bags of groceries with the hook of an umbrella on her right hand. With the rain dripping harshly against the cloth of the umbrella, Ino thought she had succeeded in keeping the bags unbroken. "It just doesn't get any better than this?" She remarked sarcastically, her vision darting towards the end of the road; the sight of her apartment leaving her gratified.

"I'm sorry miss…" A voice whispered softly against her ear, her nerves soared as she felt her heart take a leap. With a twist of her neck she took witness of the cornflower mesh of hair that was soaked with water; the sapphire eyes that regularly blazed with happiness now dim beside the murky weather.

"Oh you…" They both blurted out, each scowling in defeat.

"Excuse me?" Ino clutched the umbrella's handle, swiftly turning to meet Uzumaki Naruto. "What do you want, Naruto?" She asked, rather obnoxiously. As if it was more of a duty to acknowledge him, Ino wished she was at her home. Uzumaki Naruto was known as an annoyance, especially by her friend Sakura. Frankly, she didn't want to associate with anyone who obsessed over her rival the way he did.

"Oh, so it's that way I see…" The young man rubbed his neck, raising his eyebrow.

"Ah, so I guess this here is for me." Naruto exposed the now polished apple, bringing it to his lips as he bit into the crimson fruit. Ino widened her eyes in surprise, softly placing her bags on the floor as she returned her gaze to Naruto.

"No. Where did you get that from?"

"This is pretty sweet…good choice Ino." Munching on the sugary apple, he savored the taste of the produce. "By the way, there's plenty of fruit behind me…Oh say around five. That's a lot of wasted money, don't you think?"

"Naruto!" Ino growled under her breath, more for her own lack of knowledge. She stepped to see that there wasn't anything but road ahead of them.

"Ah, but I picked them all up." The young man patted the bulge in his jacket. "You should be careful."

"Yeah, yeah…" She rolled her eyes, pulling out her hand. "Let me get them."

"Wow, that's pretty rude." He then added, "I thought ladies are supposed to be graceful, not spiteful."

Ino bit back a feud of curses, instead she faked a smile. "Oi, I'm sorry for being so rude Naruto, can I have my fruits now?"

"Ah, I knew there was some elegance somewh-OW!" Soon following a strike from Ino, Naruto only grinned knowing it was of his consequence for that mouth of his. "Alright, sheesh." The future Hokage whined, reaching over to grab at her bags of groceries.

"What are you doing?"

"Being a gentle man; isn't that what I'm supposed to do." Came his innocent reply, Ino caught herself flustered under such a surprise. But that would not last long, "Besides you just look so pathetic Ino, I have to do something." His mischievous response left her angered but nevertheless she needed his assist. Feeling slightly generous she adjusted her umbrella over their heads, leaning in closer to protect he as well as herself from the rain, even if did seem meaningless. She chose to ignore his stupid remark, knowing exactly what he meant by that.


	2. Blackout

A/N: I've had this chapter somewhat done for weeks but I decided to finish it this Sunday. Things have been going haywire with Mid-term week and the fact that I barely passed all of my classes OO; and my new born niece also did distract me for a while.

P.S: Sorry how uneventful this chapter will be. Next chapter will be so much better I promise! And mucho gracias for the feedback! I love you all!

Chapter 2:

Now inside the house, Naruto observed the quarters of Ino's house, finding it rather ordinary. The white tint that covered the walls gave a sense of an insane asylum to the apartment. He stepped into the living room which was partly a kitchen, what separated each room was the counter which held the sink. Arching an eyebrow, he rubbed the back of his neck, "Did you move here recently or something?"

"Oh, how did you know?" Ino asked, placed the items in her empty fridge.

"Hm, well this place looks sort of empty. Like, it's a house but it's really not a home yet." He explained, taking a flop on the couch. "So whatcha going to cook for me, eh?" Making a grab at the remote, Naruto clicked the television on.

"Uh, excuse me?"

"Yeah, I mean I went out of my _busy _schedule to come and help you. I had lives to save you know, I should be thanked with a meal or something." A grin poised his features.

"Is that so?" She scoffed at him from behind, questioning if letting in the Uzumaki was a noble idea. "So what do you want? Ramen?"

"Ramen, ramen….nah…" Tapping his chin as if he were in full concentration the young man shook his head.

"You don't want ramen! What a surprise!"

"Ramen isn't the only thing I eat," Kicking off his boots, the teenager made an effort to snuggle against the fabric of the couch. "I'm sort of in the non ramen mood today."

"Naruto I'm warning you, I'm not that great of a cook." She frowned, glancing at the vegetables she placed on the counter.

"Do you really think I care what you cook? I'm starving really, I could eat anything!"

Taking notice of her appetite, Ino ultimately agreed to cook for the two of them. Besides, he did grant her a favor by helping her with the groceries. Would it be so wrong to return the gesture? And so, she proceeded to chop at the lettuce, wondering what exactly it was that she was going to cook. Over the years, she did help her mother with cooking but it always related to washing the dishes. Ino took one last look of pity at the fantastic food that peered pleadingly at her. Sighing, she brushed all second thoughts aside and went ahead to chopping instead.

First came the onions, she didn't realize just how gruesome onions were until she went to peeling off its violet skin. Once the odor of onions stroke her nose she felt her eyes water and this feeling of itchy distress conquer her vision. "What the hell…?" Annoyance tanked her fuel, wishing that the knife could just chop faster.

"Are you having any trouble-?"

"Oh shit!" She cried out, in trailing her thoughts elsewhere, she could feel the blade sink into her pinky. Swiftly dropping the sharp object, she paid no attention to its clatter as she clutched her fingers. "Damn!" She cried out, hoping that it wasn't as deep as she thought it was. Blood was something she could tolerate, when it wasn't coming out of her own body.

"Um, Ino? Are you okay?" Naruto ambled his way towards her, seeing her shoulders crouch in front of him. Having her back to him, he could hear her whimpers. He frowned, curious as to what exactly happened to her. "Did you cut yourself?" He softly grasped her arm in his effort to pull it towards him.

"No, no! Don't look at it!" Her eyes widened, the scarlet liquid beginning to sluggishly smear from her palm. "I just-"

"Open your hand, squeezing it only makes it worse." He stated calmly, taking her palms in his.

"Ah but, no I don't want to look at it-"

"So then don't. I will," He reached for a cloth at the counter, amused at how emotional women like Ino were. Being a ninja for years, he was accustomed to the sight of blood. In his effort to pry Ino's right hand off of her left he murmured, "Jeez what are you a hemophiliac?"

"N-No." Ino finally loosened her grip, stressing at the sight of a pale streak of dead skin that was spewing blood. "Jeez, one little cut. I didn't even think my pinky has so much blood."

"Eh, well you cut it clear to the bone I think." He spoke over her grunts. Covering her wound with a tablecloth, he added "It's not lethal, at least," before engaging in a chuckle.

"Shut up." She grumbled, tossing him an angry glare. Immune to such because of his Sasuke, Naruto chose to change the subject.

"Hey, what were you going to make anyway?"

"I have no idea." She stated, feeling slightly awkward at just how close she was to him. Her gaze lingered towards his warm hands that were grasping her small wounded left one.

"Hey do you have a band aid? I can't keep holding your hand, you know." Laughing softly at his own joke he relaxed his grip, letting her hands go as he walked towards the hall to look in the bathroom.

As if things couldn't get any worse, the lights that brought luminosity into the apartment suddenly faded out, Ino quickly glanced at the light bulb held above her head. Watching it slowly die out, the action was soon followed by the piercing crash of lightning. "Hey, uh wait." Ino dashed towards the shadow ahead of her, the fear indicated in her voice. Trying to hide it was the becoming a problem. Soon clutching at the hem of his shirt she tugged, pacing closer to him, her wounded hand was knotted with the tablecloth. '_It just couldn't get any better than this_,' Ino mused,

"Oh, don't tell me you're afraid of the dark too." He could not suppress his laugh, thinking to himself just how delicate Ino was even if she tried to hide it. "You are such a child."

"No!" She defended, reaching to clasp his arm when he entered a vastly gloomy bathroom.

"You're interesting…" He mumbled, probing for a cabinet with his fingers, quickly shoving the handle to open the medicine cupboard. He failed in his search for band aids.

"Let me guess…you just moved here so you don't have any first aid, right?"

"What are you, degrading me?"

"No." He sniggered, taking hold of the end of his shirt, ripping off a piece with his teeth. Pulling Ino's blood soaked tablecloth, he tied the tattered bit of clothing onto her pinky, leaving a knot. For once, Ino was happy that the darkness concealed her blush.

For the rest of the night, Naruto found himself to be the security blanket of Ino's as she refused to let him leave with the oncoming darkness. And so, he made the best of it, succeeding in finding a few candles to light around the apartment. Now inside the living room, Ino entangled herself in warm covers, facing Naruto with saucer-like eyes. "…And then what?"

"And then…seriously I'm starving…I'll even eat raw vegetables." He groaned, patting his stomach. Such words were followed by rain that banged against the windows, serving to stimulate her nerves.

"Common Naruto, what happened after that?"

"I'll tell you, just let me get some food!" He responded, stumbling over his shoes before reaching the refrigerator. Using a candle as radiance, he peered inside to make a grab at the left over noodles in the plastic cup. "Oh yes, food!"

"Hurry up!"

"What, look Ino I think ghost stories aren't a very good idea when you're already terrified." He spoke firmly, gulping down at the cold noodle soup.

"I'm not…" She trailed off as she glanced behind her back.

"Suurreee…" He exaggerated his tone, hoping that she would see the point. "Hey where is it that I'm supposed to sleep anyway?"

"Uh, here?" She could not be bothered by his useless questions, what mattered at the moment was finding out what happened to the boy in the woods. "Just tell me what happens!"

"Whoa alright, alright." He sat up, crackling his knuckles for good measure. A smile graced his lips, mentally praising the supreme form of existence for allowing him to carry such luck. He found a place to crash at last. "Wait," he glanced down at her wounded finger, reaching to grasp it. "Are you still bleeding?"

Taken aback by the statement, Ino shook her head, "No." She observed the way he held her hand, suddenly abhorring how well she played the weak and fable damsel. "I'm fine."

"Good." He kissed the cloth that covered her wound. "I'm glad."

_For now, he guessed that the best way to swindle his way into being her roommate was to use his charm._


	3. One, Two, Three

A/N: This chapter I have to say is….funny! I don't want to give it away, anyway any feedback will be welcomed! I swear, I love reviews! Thanks for the feedback though, I'm happy you guys feel the same way.

Chapter 3:

"Aye, wake up sleeping beauty, common Miss Yamanaka….wake up honey." Naruto tried to shake the body that was clinging onto him. Really, it was amazing how they both made it through the night in one small couch. He didn't want to startle her, but he really needed to go use the bathroom. She stirred; her arm flopped over his chest as she mumbled incoherency. He grinded his teeth and wondered if it would be a moral decision to push her off the sofa. Really, his bladder was cursing him to the ends of the earth. Still, seeing Ino settle peacefully asleep beside him, it pained him to wake her. "Ino…" He made another effort to rouse her, softly shaking her arm.

"Wah?" She whispered dryly. Lifting her head, Naruto could hardly perceive her blue eyes from her squinting. "What…time is it?"

"I don't know." He shrugged, turning to stare out the window. "From what I could tell, I think it's about nine in the morning-"  
"Nine!" She shouted, suddenly alert. Pushing herself off of his torso she staggered through the rags of loose covers that lay on the carpet floor. "Damn, I have to go to the flower shop in thirty minutes!" Scrambling to her feet she quickly disappeared into the hallway, reckless clutter noises were followed.

"Heh," He chuckled to himself, patiently arising from the cushions as he stretched. "Good morning to you to." He joked, before rubbing his arm that was asleep.

"Damn, damn, damn. I freaking forget everything." Ino squeezed the shampoo bottle, placing the oozing liquid into her hair before beginning to rub it in. She sighed heavily, finding the warm water to be rather comforting.

A knock was heard from the door, but before she could answer Naruto decided to walk through, "Hey!" She cried in defense, staring through the dim shower curtains in anger.

"What? I can't see you Ino. Calm down…" He snickered, rummaging through the cabinets of the sink. "Hey, do you have an extra toothbrush?"

"Get out!"

"What?...Hey don't be like that. I'm not a pervert, really."

She bit the inside of her mouth, wondering what in the world prompted her to allow him to spend the night. "…The last drawer," She found herself mumbling before returning to rinsing the suds that lay in her flaxen locks. Once she gathered the resonance of tooth brushing, she relaxed, finding his words to be of honesty.

"Does your finger still hurt?" Naruto mumbled through the foam of toothpaste. Ino closed her eyes, finding it somewhat uncomfortable to have someone else in the other side of her bathroom.

"No, I'm alright."

"Oh shoot, I look like a dog with rabies." He chuckled to himself, glancing at the rouge brush. "Can I have this here toothbrush?"

"Go right ahead."

"Hey you're lucky I woke you up, I could have easily not woken up at all."

"I'm not much of a morning person." Ino admitted, beginning to rub the soap against her limbs. She then heard the rip of a zipper being pulled down before the sound of someone urinating in the toilet became clear, "Couldn't you have waited!" She shouted, utterly disgusted by his lack of warning.

"Sorry honey but I couldn't wait. Seriously, I've been waiting for hours," He sighed with relief before fastening the zipper and going to wash his hands. "Thanks for the bathroom, very much appreciated." With that final comment she heard the door fully close while footsteps thumped back down the passageway.

Of course it was odd waking against another person, especially Naruto. In her history, it never happened before. It was true that she had a few slumber parties in her day, but always in a separate beds or sleeping bags. Even at Sakura's house, she chose to sleep on the floor with a sleeping bag. In a way, it was comfortable to sleep against someone else. Certainly it had nothing sexual to do about it, only very warm and squishy, like an extra temperate pillow so to speak.

What was she thinking? She just considered Naruto to be a sleeping accessory.

Snorting in her self stupidity she slowly twisted the knobs of the shower, pausing the running of water that spilled atop of her hair. "Really, this was just a one time thing, Ino. He's not spending the night again." She affirmed herself, wrapping a towel against her frame before leaving the foggy room.

Taking a few steps through the small passageway, she could hear the hums and buzzes that brought part of the house to life. A droning of song, even the thuds of steps could be perceived. Then, she saw Naruto twist and hop through the open way, dressed in a frilly pink apron. Eyes closed he continued to hum the chorus of a song she was not aware of. "What?" She asked herself, stepping a few more feet before she stopped herself. A smile spread across her face, she knew that her room was back behind her but still…this was a sigh for sore eyes. The fact that he did not realize she was only a few feet behind made furthered her amusement. Clasping her hand over her mouth, she suppressed the giggles that desired to erupt out of her. Her free hand clutched the towel to prevent it from falling off.

Still, he continued to dance and frolic about in the kitchen. His hand clasped a wooden spoon as he busted into rhyming singing,

"So, One, Two, Three, take you're hand and come with me because you look so fine that I really wanna make you mine," He switched hands with the spoon, twisting and jumping about before adding, "I say you look so fine that I really wanna make you mine!" Eyes closed, he seemed to have forgotten just exactly where he was after he began to shout even louder, "Oh, Four, Five, Six, c'mon and get your kicks, now you don't need any money with a face like that, do ya honey?" He snapped his fingers, swinging his hips before he spun around and suddenly became aware that someone was watching him. He squealed in a feminine fashion, dropping the ladle as it plummeting into the floor with a clang. "Oh shit!" He cried out, biting hip lip as he turned three shades redder.

She could not contain herself as she cackled at his goofiness. Her laughs reverberated against the walls, all over the small house as she doubled over with laughter.

"It's not that funny." He seemed crossed, muttering with frustration.

"Oh man, yes it was!" She smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder, "With that getup, it's even…" Another fit of chuckles riddled through her.

"Okay, okay, hardy har har." Naruto bowed his head in shame, wishing that she waited until she left the house to work before going into his daily dance routine. "We had our fun, not go get dressed so I can finish cooking breakfast." She carried on in her cackling, irritating him. Rolling his eyes he chose to push her down the hallway, forcing her to walk until they reached the front of her room. "Enough! Go put some clothes on you weirdo!"

Ino pulled the white top over her head, snickering at the previous scene. She believed it was cute watching a grown man like Naruto dance around like he was five years ago. It pertained to his character when she thought about it, his childlike character. Only, she wished she wasn't the other one to have witnessed it, more like she wished she had a camera to record the charade. Now she had something to chat about with the regular customers at her flower shop. "Hey Naruto…" She called out, walking back into the kitchen to find a breakfast meal placed on the table, waiting to be eaten. The sight caught her off guard, and instead of pursuing with her teasing she stopped herself and silently sat on the chair.

"Good food, aint it?" Strolling into the room, Naruto set himself down across the table from Ino. His cheeks were flushed from the previous embarrassment but he wasn't as annoyed.

"Hmm, yeah. I didn't think you could cook." She took a bite of the sausage and eggs on the plate.

"You don't know a lot of things."

"..You know, you're right-"  
"Shut up!"

"Hey…common, I bet you're a better dancer than I am." She grinned, placing another spoon of food into her mouth. Her eyes glanced at the plate knowing that if she would see Naruto, all that she would be reminded of was the hilarious choreography.

"Yeah, yeah…watch I'll catch you doing something funny to…I'll never let you live it down."

"Sure…" Witnessing him munch on his food, with his messy morning hairdo and the frilly apron that hugged him, she admitted that he was handsome…in a goofy way.


	4. Por Favor, Ino!

Chapter 4:

Ino drummed her fingers onto the hard glass surface. Really, with the common rainy days of summer in Konoha, that didn't help her flower shop at all. And according to the supposed weathermen, this was not going to cease for a few days. It's not that she did not like the rain, but fewer customers meant crawling around the flower shop doing absolutely nothing. Unfortunately, she did not have the patience for such a task.

A sigh escaped her as she glanced at the cloudy setting outside her window. "This is so boring," Grunting, she hoped the day would roll on quicker than usual, the fact that she was alone did not assist either. Sure, a few hopeless customers came desperately searching for a lovely rose or too or a friendly flower of some sort, but that was usually at the opening hours. Now in the afternoon, what she was distracted by was the soft pitter patters of raindrops.

Then she smiled, knowing exactly what the right decision was to make at a time like this. Of course, what would be more wiser than to ditch the job for the rest of the day and take a nice bath at home? Her folks would understand, completely. She chuckled to herself as she quickly turned off the lights to the shop, spinning in her usual 'it's time to close' dancing manner as she flipped the open sign back to close. In one motion she kicked the main door behind her, before locking it shut.

The pleasure of closing early was enough to sidetrack her from the showers that began to dampen her clothes.

_Raindrops keep falling on my head but that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turning red_.

888888

He scrambled around the house, trying his best to figure out just exactly what to do. Okay, explaining this to an irate Ino was not going to be easy. An uncomfortable laugh flew out of his mouth, knowing that she could come in at any moment. He then paused, in front of his 'accomplishment', frowning at how it seemed to look worse every time he took a glimpse at it. Well, in his opinion it was kind of a creepy statue, it always stared back at him. And at a time when he was alone for a few hours, that was not a good thing. It's not like he meant to bump into the glass statue of a woman, or whatever the hell it was, but it cracked into a million pieces as soon as it met the marble floor. Actually, the way that damn thing was placed, it was inevitable that possible _anyone_ could innocently bump into it. So then, it wasn't his fault!

The question was, so why was he hiding it?

He knew that Ino would not take it lightly, and that would ruin his chances of living in the house. All that he knew, he could not stand asking people for favors, he was done being a nomad of some sort. Too bad no one in Konoha needed a roommate, that is…no one at the moment. Ino had to let him stay, the way she worked…to think about it, the woman couldn't even cook a descent meal. Common now! That was just about as good enough reason to let him stay, plus the fact that he was quite handsome if he said so himself.

Urgh, the way things were looking Naruto knew he was going to be kicked out in the pouring rain. He frowned, feeling nerves whirl in his insides, he needed to hide the ugly thing quick before anyone found out! And so, he proceeded to shove it into the last drawer in the kitchen, next to the sink. With his logic, he figured that since Ino did not have any culinary skills what so ever, she would have no need for that space.

So yes, he was saved at the moment. Except, his ears twitched at the echo of jiggling keys behind him, and the only thing he was wearing was boxers.

Okay, okay, there was another reasonable explanation for this one, my friend. Could we just say it was the summer heat? (Nor the rain could simmer it down)

He cursed, knowing that the distance between him and his pants was quite far, so diving for it was not such a bad idea. Too bad he fell, crashed and burned.

Ino threw the keys in front of her, eyes closed. She had a few routines going on when it came to the way she entered into her apartment, believing it as a both a stress reliever and some sort of good luck charm for her house, sort of like a burlesque dancer but with clothes on. With another twirl equivalent to a ballet dancer a "Honey, I'm home!" was said in a sing,-song voice. She always did some one liners after coming back to her apartment, to herself of course, forgetting that there was someone else inside. That was when her eyes caught sight of Naruto hopping between the doorframe, attempting to fix himself into pants or something of that matter.

She blushed heavily, recalling that she was not alone. Feeling somewhat idiotic, she called out, "Naruto, you're still here! What are you doing here!" She believed that they made a unspoken agreement that he would leave by the time she got back, except that he was never informed of such.

"I-I…hey isn't it a little early for you to be here?" Naruto finished zipping himself up as he walked towards her, putting on the best actor like grin he could after an embarrassment like that. With his arms wide open, he figured silly was his trademark approach. "Honey, you're home!"

Ino glared at him suspiciously, "What are you doing…you're not planning to stay-" She gasped, realization hitting her the hardest, "You're planning to stay here! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!" Before she could go on, he smothered her in a bear hug.

"You know, it's nice to see you. I was kind of bored." He ignored her last statement.

"Get off of me!" She mumbled, crimson rushing under her eyes. Finally finding enough strength to push the taller blonde away from her, she brushed at the invisible dirt off her shoulders. Really that guy was just too touchy feely sometimes. "No! Who do you think you are!" Biting her lips, she took a few steps away from him, noticing just how sudden his face altered from hopelessly happy to disheartened in seconds. No, he could not just barge in here… "You can't! Where the hell are you going to sleep, in fact…there's only one room, one bed, AND IT'S MINE-"

In the midst of her screams, his knees collapsed onto the rug, as he folded his hands, "Please Ino Yamanaka! Please, Por Favor, S'il vous plaît, Onegaimasu!"

"Where are you going to sleep?" She watched him as he inched his fingers around her leg. If it were not for her being so angry, she would have laughed at him.

"In the couch, hello, I'm a guy, idiot," He sneered to the side, briefly out of his character before he realized his mistake.

"Uh huh, yeah right…" Ino rolled her eyes, tapping her foot. "Will you get off of me? I have things to do-"

"Like? _Common _Ino, you don't have much of a life-"

"…This is your way to persuade?"

"I'll cook for you, you know I'm a good cook, admit it. I'll even dance for you…" Her eyebrow curved, witnessing him beg at her every whim was sort of…cute. And the guy said he would cook, not that she wasn't good at it, okay to be honest she was planning on just eating ramen for the rest of her life. Maybe this was not such a bad idea…

"…And you'll pay half the rent…?"

"Of course I would!" He responded, nimble to arise on his feet, his happy-go-lucky grin beaming now more than ever. Once Ino caught sight, she could not help but return a smile, there was something intriguing about this goofy goober, she could not put her finger on it. "Okay good, because I was kind of getting sick of hiding all my boxes in your room, and believe me you would have been pissed if you walked into your room-"

"WHAT!" She hastily twisted her head, sapphire eyes squinting to spot a few brown boxes peaking out of her precious room. "I can't believe this!-"

"Relax! You already said yes, no backsees!" With that retort, he proceeded to run off away from the imminent assault of the Ino.

888888

A little extra something…

"Ino…" He grumbled, snapping his tongue, slightly disgusted with the morning breath that rolled in his mouth. Because he knew full heartedly that she never locked her door he proceeded to turn the knob and take a few steps in. It took a few seconds for him to realize that the room was completely dark, like some sort of bat cave, "what the…" he mused, chuckling at how nocturnal this woman was. "Hey, hey you!" Stumbling upon a few unobserved shoes in this dim room he tried his best to find a lamp, or even a window! "Wake up Miss Ino Yamanaka, or you're going to be late!"

Why did he agree to be her alarm clock? He did not know why, he could have been taking a nice cold shower in the morning, or at least find Sasuke to pester him a bit, even he was a morning person. But no, he had to try and wake up a hard rock today.

Her usual protests were heard, he frowned, believing that this was going to be turn into a long day. The tips of his fingers tapped at the metal edge of her bed as he moved on closer to her, at the side of her bed. "Wake up…" Another effort in his soothing voice, but no avail. "Ino…wake up…" His hands softly shook at her side, he did not want her to stir awake frightened or anything, like _last _time, one bruise was enough. But his patience was wearing thin, "Ino…" As a round of mumbles, grumbles, the creaking of her bed as she turned to the side, he decided that he had enough. "You know what…" He folded his sleeves, no longer taking things simple and clean. Forcefully, he reached closer to her, a knee supporting the rest of him as his arms dug under her body. She fidgeted faintly, finding a comfortable position under his arms, unbeknownst to what was about to occur next.

With one quick motion, he lifted her off of her bed, pulling her close to his chest as he made a break to the dim light of the hallway calling out to him. She breathed softly, adjusting herself once more as she nuzzled her face into his chest. The sudden action caused him to fluster, not exactly expecting her to get cozy with him. He figured the best thing to do was throw her into the bath tub, right? While the pace of his heart quickened, it finally revived the sleeping beauty, her brilliant blue eyes peering at the odd figure above her. "What…?" She half spoke, half yawned, her arms stretching above her head, fingers lacing with Naruto's smooth hair. "What the," Ino suddenly became alert, pulling herself, eyes cracking open to witness Naruto's dazzling smile. "What do you think you're doing!" Luckily she was too much at a state of shock to notice his flustered appearance.

"You wouldn't wake up!" He protested, squirming to keep both the balance and the girl in his arms. "You're going to be late-"

"You could have done _something_ else, idiot!" She tried her best to reach for thin air, a crack at escaping his grip. The sudden bright lights blinding her eyes, really seven in the morning was just a godless hour to her.

"Hey, stop! We're both going to…." Cerulean orbs widened, his leg lifted a few inches too high as the other side of him began to tip over, the best thing he could do was to head for the couch which was ironically only a foot away. However, he fell with a hard thump, Ino wailing her arms to reach for any inanimate object to save herself did not help either. "Ouch…" He whined, both he and Ino were tangled in legs, arms, bodies crashed together on the hard surface. This was not his idea of a beautiful morning.

"Hey, idiot!" Ino made a fist, striking him above his head, "It's Saturday! Argh!" She waved the small portable calendar at his face, one that she managed to grab for while they were falling down like the London Bridge. "I don't work on Saturday!"

"…Oh gee, you're very welcome!" He manage to blurt out, "See if I ever do you a favor!"


	5. The Heat Makes People Crazy

A/N: No. Now I need to brag. I have bragging rights. Rubs eyes It is 4: 30 A.M. I shall repeat that because I think that it bares mentioning, it is 4:30. A.M. I don't know how I am typing this but I am. This took three days to type

This is two chapters in one. I wrote the most I've ever written. **I am dead serious**. I am so proud of myself, and I love the way this chapter turned out. I never thought I'd get this much support for this story, and this happened to be the story with the most reviews. This is my thank you to you guys, I love writing. Well…here you go. And **don't you dare** tell me that this was a short chapter.

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Chapter Five:

**It was **a little something called heat. Heat was just disgusting, the way it seeped into rooms, filling the room to the point of suffocation. Ino could not handle the heat, so much that she awoke from her uncomfortable slumber, at what was considered an ungodly hour of nine in the morning. The fact that it was the middle of the weekend, the no work days of her life, only became an irritating reminder of how settling herself perhaps was not the best idea. But no matter, she was going to prove her parents wrong, she can make it on her own!

She wiped at her forehead, disgusted by the presence of sweat on her wrist. A grimace graced her lips, she sighed heavily as she banged her head against the table, atop of the pile of bills that have not been opened for quite a few days now.

"Hey whatcha doing?" A low voice spoke into her ear, the instant reaction was just hilarious in the eyes of Naruto. Ino jumped from her seat, pushing forth her arms as the multiple envelopes of bills flew into the air falling down like snowflakes. Horrible, money-eating snowflakes that is.

"Don't do that!" She growled at him, irritated, reaching down to take a swipe at the many demands for payment that were splattered through out the kitchen floor.

"Whoa! What was the meaning of that?" A playful laugh ran though him, he bent down to assist Ino. "Good morning, Ino. I can't believe you're awake."

"I can't believe it either." She sneered, rolling her eyes. "It's so hot here, I can't take the heat." Lifting herself onto a chair, she carelessly dropped the papers back onto the marble table, exhaling deeply.

"Then get out of the kitchen." He found himself laughing, loudly and obnoxiously. The way the comeback played into his intellect, he could not restrain himself. He thought he knew better than to pester Ino when she was like this but he could not resist. The threatening glare he received from Ino was enough to keep him quite for a few minutes.

She was aware that all the windows were opened, each and every single one of them. However, it appeared to have done nothing in comparison with the fuming heat wave that has been occurring for the past week. Sweating the moment one comes out of the shower was not as amusing as it used to be. And with Naruto's annoyingly happy-go-lucky mode of thought, she knew that they, or she, would have to get the hell out of the house sooner or later before she snapped and brought Naruto down with her.

Perchance Naruto may have read the thoughts running through her mind from the blank stare she was sending him. Instead of commenting sarcastically he held his tongue. He knew it was hot, boy was it hot. He never thought it could ever be this humid and blistering in Konoha, especially for a week. And it wasn't appealing watching Ino get riled up over small things because she could not concentrate from the heat. He wished he could do something about it, but wishing was about the best he could do.

"Hey here." His hands shoved into his pocket, pulling out a few unmarked bills as he grabbed her hand, opening her palm. "I told you I'd pay in time, and you didn't believe me. I should have made a bet with you when I had the chance." His eyes crinkled, a smile splashing on his features. "Anyway that's half a grand, I don't owe you until next month."

"How the heck did you get five hundred dollars in three days?"

"…I have my ways." He answered slyly, his back leaning against the table. "Actually a B rank mission usually pays plenty of cash, so I took a few with Sasuke."

"Uh huh." Unconvinced, the stress amounting from the bills quickly faded, and she too began to relax. Her fingers twisting into her fair-haired locks, swiftly tying it with a pencil, Ino heaved one last sigh.

"Alright, I've had enough of this…" Naruto muttered, turning away from her, walking deeper into the kitchen, his back to her. Ino remained at her state, placing a few dollars in each envelope, happy to know that her monthly debts were going to be paid at last.

"Hey you know we actually have enough to live this month, aint that just lovely?" Ignoring the illegible chatter, she made another swipe at the sweat accumulating on her neck. Her tongue slid onto the gluey paper, sealing the envelope shut. "Damn, I wish I could get air conditioners, at least one but we can't afford it." Her mind recalled the first month of living in her new apartment as well as living with a roommate at that. It was not as bad as she expected, actually it was far more interesting than she could ever imagine. Truly being with Naruto proved to be an invigorating experience. Wait, 'being', that was not the accurate response, it was more like living with him. Because being with him meant that she had to _like _him, which she _did not_.Well she did like him but…jeez this whole contradicting argument she was having with herself would been more amusing if it did not have to deal with her roommate.

She bit onto her thumbnail, it was best to distract herself when it came to mindless thinking.

**SPLOOOOSH**. Ice cold liquid splattered onto her face, causing her to fall back, luckily the couch was at a plunging distance, in which she flipped upon. A hard cry escaped her, echoing through the halls of the house. Her hands instinctively formed seals but stopped as soon as the rest of her body rolled from the couch. She sat up, gasping for air, as if she were drowning. The sudden contact caused the pencil to fly out, her hair soaked in water clumped to her face, drips running down her cheeks. Ino lifted herself onto the glass table, turning to send a fierce glare in Naruto's direction. It took a few huffs of warm air for her to catch her breath. Too bad her scolding could not be heard by the wild cackling by yours truly.

The situation was too much for him to bear, he doubled over in laughter, his hand clutching his stomach as he tried his best not to collapse onto the floor. The walls shook alongside his hoots and hollers. His hand continued to hold onto the medium sized bucket, but the attempt at keeping still was just over the top.

He walked--no crawled, towards her, breathing became a necessity, his face was now beet red. Once he reached her, she gave him a smug look. He clutched her arm, pulling down to his eye-level. Her protests went unheard as the completely obnoxious laughs deafened her ears. She knelt down beside him, wondering how long it would take to get him to shut the _fuck_ up.

"Ino…OH MY GOD…" He blurted through snorts and sniggers, "That was…YOU'RE FACE WAS PRICELESS! Did you see? I was like…" He made a face, tugging at her hand to make sure she was listening, "And you were like…" Another perplexed expression graced his features, "And then I went…" He motioned the bucket, and she flinched from experience, which only deepened his laughs, "And then you went-"

"SHUT UP!" Ino yanked her arm away, pushing him away as she rose to her feet. Although he paid no attention to her, he fell on his back, onto the saturated rug. She grunted angrily, making her way back to the kitchen, scrambling through the cabinets for something enormous for the amount of chilly water she longed to fill her container with. She cursed Naruto's name, no longer caring for the way the water splashed onto the floor. Her cold clothes clung to her, although she felt relief, she did not care much for his mocking behavior. She bit her lip, leaning over to the sink, ensuring that each and every molecule of water would make it in the pail. "Damn him, who the hell does he think…he can't just do that…these clothes are brand new too…."

"Man Ino, that was…I wish I had a camera!" His laughs showed no sign of dying down, his arms reached for any object to pull himself up, she slammed the handle down, both hands taking hold of the heavy bucket.

"When I get you…" She groaned, pulling heavy object with both arms. It swayed in front of her, large portions of water gushed out, but she paid no mind. It took a few steps to get to him, her sickening grin grew with each step. Perhaps she could not tolerate the way his sarcastic laughs, but the idea of drowning him in freezing water was stimulating. Overlooking the couch, Ino hurled the pail, watching as it drenched the poor laughing man on the floor. He coughed at the liquid that choked him, completely surprised. His eyes widened, turned to stare in utter shock at Ino. "FFFh…What…What?" His fingers fiddled through his soggy locks, large saucer-like orbs stared at her, filled with hurt. "Why'd you went off and did that Ino?" His lower lip quivered, eyes glistened.

"Excuse me, don't you dare try with that bull again." Ino turned away from him, crossing her arms, her nose pointed to the air, "Hmph!"

"…Whoa," he held a grin before pulling himself to his feet. It became a task to take a stride without falling onto the wet surface. "Now,_ that _was repressed anger, my friend. Obviously you've had a grudge against me for quite a while." He scrunched the hem of his cotton shirt, watching the water trickle. "I mean a huge bucket like that for a slight dribble of water.

"What!" She shouted, her screams echoing against the lucent walls. "What the _hell _was the meaning of that anyway?" Her foot stomped, eyes narrowing, her fingers pointed threateningly at him. He blinked, although he acted as if he was surprised, he was immediately accustomed to the way Ino was akin to 'sensationalize' situations. Well, to be frank, she always acted this way. He thought it was slightly cute watching Ino parade about the apartment, screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Oh, Ino…I'm terribly sorry…No…" Swiftly, in a manner unlike any other, he seized her hand, his lips brushing gently against her fingers. Almost instantly, a warm flutter trailed into the pit of her abdomen, and suddenly it was a hassle to keep a grim look on her face. "No, it was just disrespectful of me-"

"Shut up Naruto."

"I'm sorry Ino." He kissed her once more, the swirls of affectionate overtaking her.

"Stop," She whined, yanking out her hand from his grasp. "What is it with you? You're such a clown."

He paused, part of him wanted to carry on with the teasing; you know, just for the hell of it. "I guess you're right." He exhaled noisily, hands occupying themselves over the back of his neck.

From her view, when she did spin around to spit a good ol' quip, the sight of the drenched sofa did not please her. The once russet tinted cushion appeared to be of some sort of oversized dark chocolate bar, a wet one that is. Not only that, the floor was…it could not be described; unspeakable. Water seeped into a few photographs, dripping off of the living room table. It horrified her, dealing with the thought of actually setting out to tidy up the place, _again_. Urgh. "We're cleaning this right now! Don't you…you're not getting out of here, I don't care what excuse you have! It's too late!" A rag was given to Naruto, who was bemused by her outbursts,

"But-"

"Just do it!"

"I wasn't going to leave…" He grumbled, kneeling to begin wiping off the moisture. "Thanks a lot Miss Ino, now I have nothing to sleep on." His hand motioned onto his sleeping 'bed'. She took one fleeting look before shrugging, passing by to head towards the kitchen.

"Oh? Well I guess you're sleeping on the floor then-"

"Would you really make me do something so cruel?"

Unfortunately, the almost frozen water that was splattered on her was now at normal temperature, even if it did offer to provide hydration, it no longer cooled her. Cleaning, wiping the sweat, and listening to the idiot was enough to bring any woman to mind-drifting mode. "Alright fine…" Ino scrubbed at the floor, content to see the water begin to dry, along with the heat.

"Fine, what?" He stalled, perking his eyebrow. "You have a master bedroom, it's huge, why don't I just share it with you, just one night?"

"Okay, okay. Just clean up the living room."

It took him a while to register her answer in his head. He seriously thought _certainly_ this would have her blow yet another gasket, but having her answer with a simple "okay"? Well…he guessed he might as well take her up on that offer, after all…it appeared to be a once and a lifetime at that.

Even though he was the one who offered, and she just complied with it.

…………….

Ino stared, uninterested at the moving pictures in front of her. Television was another thing on her list that she did not quite like. Well, to be honest, it was those soap operas that appealed to her the most, but weekends never offered those wonderful programs. Also, the way day blended into night, it was pleasant to have the heat simmer down, even if it was just for a bit. But that was not what occupied her mind at the moment, it was wondering where Naruto could be. It has been about an hour when she's sent him, along with ten bucks in cash, to the store to pick up some milk and cereal.

Maybe he met up with some friend, and decided to have some small chat, or he could have lost the money. That no brain dim-wit, of course he would be bound to do something like that. Or, what if something happened to him on the way?

She cringed, hoping it was nothing of that manner. But he was a shinobi, the loudest shinobi in Konoha, but a ninja at that.

The sound of the door opening relieved her a bit, she turned to see Naruto, who trotted passed her to place the store bought items, before promptly taking a bound for the seat on the floor, where Ino was. "Oh man, you've got to come with me. Seriously!" He latched onto her arm, heaving to pull her up to her feet. She staggered, taking a few steps before catching balance.

"What are you talking about? It's late, I'm going to eat milk and cereal and head out to bed."

"Wait, I have something _way_ better than that. Seriously, just come with me. You won't regret it." He continued to drag her, out of the door, pulling it close before proceeding out onto the dark streets.

"Where are we going?"

"Oh, it's a surprise." His eyes shined with excitement, he carried on, instead of heading towards the main roads, he lead her into the trails. Ino surveyed the outlines of the high trees, watching the varieties of green shrubs pass her by. The first thing that came to mind was some sort of dead animal that he probably thought would be amusing. "Everyone's waiting, stop taking so long!"

She brightened at the comment, "Everybody? No seriously where are we going?" The end of the trails seemed to be nearing, and the first hue to catch her eye was the smooth shimmering of the blue waves, against the glow of the moonlight. Second, was the gentle murmurs of laughter, teasing, and happy shouts that emerged from ahead. "Is that a pond or…something?"

"Eh, I think a bay, who cares? It's so cold…" He laughed to himself, his mind busy with the idea of splashing in the cool water.

"Wait!" She shouted, shoving her heels into the dirt, watching as Naruto resumed sprinting. The link between them broke, she bit her lip as she saw him charge, stripping his shirt off before hitting the water, splashing into the group of friends that fooled around and played. Ino took a few steps forward, catching sight of all the young adults prancing in the body of water. Everyone was there, including the arrogant Sasuke; Neji even managed to get in with some persuasion from TenTen. It was some sort of strange flashback occurring before her eyes. She smiled at the sight, but her enjoyment stopped short as soon as she witnessed Naruto swimming towards her. "What are you doing? Go play!" She beckoned him to shoo, stooping down until her backside met with the mud.

"Ino, what are you doing? Get in the water…" He came out of the water, tugging at her palm.

"It's so nice!"

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I can't swim." She whispered to him, finding it awkward being the only one not enjoying the pool of liquid.

"So what?" He did not seem to be phased by her response. The impulsive pulling caused her to cautiously slip into the water. Nerves rushed through her, the cool waves measured slightly above her knees.

"Naruto, c'mon." Came her response. Ino peered over his shoulder, studying the lack of attention received by the others who frolicked and cavorted in the water. "I don't mind being alone,"

"Do you trust me!" He suddenly cried out, the common mockery tone in his voice was no longer there. "I'd never let anything happen to you, c'mon just take my hand." Offering her his hand, he lifted his doused limb, motioning for her to take it.

Ino sighed, gradually placing her hand in his before he escorted her further into the marina. The level of water quickly depreciated. A clamor escaped her, out of pure shock. Eyes widened, she gaped at Naruto who stopped swimming. "You're going to give me a panic attack!"

"Ah, honey, calm down."

"Stop going! Let me get used to the level at least!" She shouted, her arms clenched at him, her legs could no longer feel any sort of ground. She clung onto his back, feeling the pace of her heart burst out of her like fireworks. "Naruto, Naruto, NARUTO!"

"Ino, Ino, Ino!" He kicked his legs to keep them both propelling. He mocked her, beaming at her with his trademark grin. Watching as the rest of his friends were all rough housing with one another he decided that the best thing to do for a beginner was to get away from it all. Instead of heading straight, he went to the side, by the docks. "Just trust me, alright?" Ino caught Sakura staring at her from afar. She blushed, uncomfortable, hoping that her friend would not mistaken what was happening for something different. She buried her face into his hair, tightening her hold on his neck, grunting in embarrassment.

"What's the matter--?"

"Aw, Ino! That is so cute!" Sakura waved her arm, Ino cringed, and Naruto only joined in the laughter. In the midst of Ino cursing her life away, remarkably her ears were able to pick up on the last comment, "Naruto teaching you how to swim, ha!"

One satisfying sigh came through, which assisted and loosed her tension. She rested her chin atop of his mush of messy hair, staring at the stars. Perhaps, this was not such a bad idea, cooling off from the heat was not so bad. Even if she was not so great at swimming, she enjoyed the way the water swayed under her legs. "Did I kill you yet?" He interjected from her random daydreaming, hid arm reaching to take hold one of the wooden poles that made up of the docks.

"No." Ino said plainly.

And without further ado, he dunked his head into the water, taking her down with him. He grabbed onto her, lifted her arm above the water before she could have any sort of alarm.

"Okay, lets stop here." He huffed, leaning against the post. "I'm sort of tired,"

"Naruto it's okay. I don't mind." She reassured him, feeling slightly safe with him around. Still the multiple stories of sharks and other types of sea life dwelling in the water was not at all appealing to her. _Great_,another thing to fear. "You're just real crazy, you know?"

"Oh please, I am the life of the party!"

"You didn't have to take me, seriously, I wouldn't have gotten mad if you played with Sakura and everyone else." Her cheeks burned. Likewise, she tried her best to keep her eyes below

the water, but things never quite seemed to work her way.

"It's not the same," Naruto spoke, eyes closed. "Plus, you don't know how to swim. Now's a best time than any other to at least get into deep water." She nodded, showing that she agreed.

Adjusting herself beside him, the two watched TenTen try her best to catch the rest at a game of Marco Polo.

"You can go play,"

"Do you really want me to leave you alone?"

Question so sudden, she felt something swell down below, "No." She admitted, eyes that were once focused on his vivid stare now concentrated on counting the stars in the sky. What was so wrong with her? Why did she just admit that to him? He probably thought she was just plain weird now.

"What are you so afraid of?" He asked, his breath stroked her cheek. Gently, he made a gesture that brought her face to his view. He pushed forward kissing her cheek, wet lips pressing against her skin. She quivered under his touch.

"…I-I'm not afraid,"

The echoes and sudden splashes of the others caught Ino's eye. No longer was the body of water occupied with a large number of people, only a few remained. Lee was finding it hard to get back out of the water without somehow tripping back in. The slick mud that awaited them all did prove t be quite slippery. Sakura giggled at him, reaching out her hand to help him, a smile gracing her.

"Maybe we should go back." Ino whispered to him, hiding her flushed face. Using the pole to adjust herself, she slipped her arms around his shoulders, kicking her legs as a signal for him to leave.

The walk back happened to be quite silent. "I had fun, 'Ruto." She looked ahead, although he did have his back to her, she could read the guilt that he felt, clearly.

"No, you didn't."

"Yes I did." She smiled, running her index finger against her cheek, remembering the sweet spot.

"No, you didn't."

"…" She was growing rather annoyed, being completely soaked at the latest hour possible as well as having to walk bare foot back to her home was not that bad, but having to convince a certain idiot that she actually enjoyed herself was irritating. "'Ruto, I had fun. Okay?"

"No, you didn't."

"Shut up!" She cried out, tugging on his shirt, pulling him from behind. From there she embraced him, tightly clutching at the half dry shirt, taking in the scent that was Naruto. "Idiot, I had fun, now shut up and make me something to eat." She mumbled, tickling the small of his back with the heat of her mouth. He chuckled as the two parted in front of the house.

"You want to know something funny?" Another one of his grins fell through, "We spent all day cleaning the house and we're going to dirty it up anyway!" A loud laugh flew out of his mouth, reverberating into the house like some sort of curse. Ino almost fell over, grunting as she realized that he was right.

"Urgh, I forgot!" She cried out, completely annoyed. Before she knew it, he found the opportunity to scoop her into his arms, heading into the house. "What are you doing!" She bared her teeth at him, ready to sock a nice one right on his cheek.

"What?" He asked innocently, "See, only one set of footprints to clean tomorrow. Sheesh, I'm only trying to help." She sighed, guessing that he was right after all. Instead of fighting him off, she decided to just go with the flow. It was nice being carried around here and there. Although she was not in the arms of a knight in shining armor, a goofy friend is always good enough. As they passed the living room, slipping into the her room one last thought crossed her mind.

Where was Naruto supposed to sleep?

….Something at the back of her head, she guessed it was her conscious tugged at her. It drove her back into her memories, where she recalled attempting to mop the floor…and _allowing_ him to sleep with her. Was she completely nuts? How could she just let something like that slip by without detecting it, if anything? Was she insane? Was insanity just impaling itself into her little by little until she could take no more. Before, the couch showed no signs of drying for at least a few days. And by the way they went by it, it still was soggy as ever. Ugh.

In the midst of her thought, they reached her bed, as he thoughtlessly dumped her on her mattress, snickering at how she still had enough energy to yelp, because he was in fact _pooped_. "Well…goodnight," He hopped onto the other side, taking hold of a pillow. Adjusting it under his head.

"You can't sleep in my bed like that! You're all wet!"

"So what? C'mon Ino, it's so hot, this'll help us-"

"Don't try to weasel your way out of this just because you're too lazy!" She cried out, glaring angrily at him from the other side of the bed. But her shouts did no good, as he lay completely still on her bed, the only motioning was his chest moving slowly up and down. The pitter-patter of his heart beating at a sleeping pace. Ino frowned, finding it rather impossible that anyone could fall asleep so freaking easily. _Obviously _he was faking it.

But she soon smiled, watching him like that, in such a child-like state in which his blonde tangles spilled onto her pillow, and the way he snored gently, she could actually admit that he looked quite attractive. She snorted, "Sure, cute, I guess." She told herself, bringing up a thin blanket to cover her water drenched body. "Real _adorable_."


	6. Sake and Nyquil AKA The Naruto Chapter

Chapter 6:

_Ooh baby. I know I'm in a dream now._

The first thing on his mind was how incredibly chilly the room was, how he awakened shivering. After weeks of downpours, followed by an oncoming discharge of gruesome, scorching hot conditions, he believed that the abnormal weather would finally regenerate itself. But then again, the transition from summer to fall was pending, and so it was expected of strange climate changes.

For Naruto, mornings were his calling. He was quite the morning person, the warm sun embracing him, the chirps and tweets of unmistaken birds would bring some sort of melody into his day. Which is the sole reason why today came to be quite a surprise to him.

He pressed his body against the warmth, finding himself captivated by the comfort. A smile filled with gratitude formed on his lips, he snuggled into his pillow, feeling much too sluggish to get up. It was the eyes that were half lidded, glossed with infinite ease, which caught sight of a strand of blonde hair that was by far much too light to be his color. He trailed downward, his sight expanding with each inch further.

Arms surrounded his torso, frail body was clasped against him. She cuddled into his chest, nuzzling her face. Features filled with peaceful slumber. He felt his an impulse at the touch of her foot lazily rubbing against his. He gulped, quickly recalling exactly where he was, and that was not amidst the crude bumps and hard bulges of the sofa springs. Naruto attempting to pull at his arm, which protectively held onto her waist. But as he tugged ever so softly, Ino only adjusted herself closer, making it a challenge for him to pull away.

"Ino…," He whispered, peering down onto the calm expression that drew his nerves. She was still, save for the low rising and falling of her breathes.

A splash of affection hit him, hard.

Restraining himself was becoming difficult, much too complicated to say the least. At first his sudden outbursts of emotions could have been blamed on the age of untamed hormones, the ripe age of eighteen. But even he could repress himself after so long. Ino…

He had to admit it, it would be foolish not to. At first, he paid no attention to the conscious that admitted consequences and onto the smile that jolted him so, the way she made him laugh. What he believed to be a petty crush, only a small attraction, turned into a bitter realization rather abruptly.

The scent of a woman was intoxication, the touch of a woman was far more. Her aroma filled his lungs, she was so soft. And he found himself doing by whatever means necessary to catch a reaction, and when she was flustered it caught him off guard.

It was a mistake to find Ino Yamanaka. He was supposed to find a house for rent on his own, he was supposed to continue pestering Sakura into dating him, and he was supposed to have teased Sasuke left and right. An agenda that was created pre-maturely never had much of a chance.

Now that he was eighteen, the trip to 'all expenses paid' was deemed over. The life of an orphan became the life of a young man, and the expenditure that Konoha was responsible for now became his own responsibility. But he was not resentful over the ordeal, he felt that living on his own would be easier than having Tsunade-sama worry about him all the time. Not that she has not ended her charade, but she felt slightly more confident that he was able to live on his own now that he was at legal age.

Yes, the situation appeared suggestive, but he could not help himself. Was it so wrong to offer affection, and receive it all the same?

He sighed, feeling guiltier by the second. He was completely aware of his manipulation of Ino, he has taken advantage of her friendly gestures, perhaps somewhere in the haze of his love-sick self he even believed that she would in time return his feelings. Like Sakura.

And Sakura, the guilt seeped at him. It made him question his loyalty to her, even if it appeared as if she held no attraction to him what so ever, he still believed that she cared for him much more than she would admit.

"Rrr…What…time…what time is it?" Ino groaned, her hands pushing against his torso, unnerving him. His heart leaped, skipping beats as he bit his lip. Mind racing, he back tracked a few seconds, hoping that he did not speak aloud to himself, a nasty old habit that was almost impossible to kill.

He flushed, his cheeks flaring at the thought of the way he held onto her. His arms opened, the tie between them ripping apart, he then rubbed at his face, hoping to have stopped the sudden flow of blood. And finally, a grin plastered his lips as he tried his best to hide behind his mask that he was close to perfecting.

"D-I…I don't know…" His free arm searched clumsily against her desk behind him, tossing aside redundant materials, old photographs and various other objects before touching upon the hard surface of an alarm clock. "Ah, here." He lifted the device, squinting to catch the red letters that blinded him. As the bat-cave that was Ino's room, it was a miracle that he even saw anything in front of him. The dim shade offered little details to her room. "One…one thirty? Wow it's one thirty," Surprised, even to himself, he spoke, peering below at her. "It's the middle of the afternoon, and I just woke up too."

"Yeah, yeah…" She mumbled, sitting up on her bed. She witnessed the free space that her side offered, and was startled at the assertion that it was she who found her way into his arms that night. It was not like she was going to admit it though. Never. "Big deal, I still think it's a little early." Blinking, she mentally questioned her sudden sour attitude towards him. In fact, it wasn't his fault that she was not much of a gentle sleeper. She grumbled at the thought, the thought of her actually _reaching_ out to him. "I mean…I…" Ino stared at him, curious as to why he was glaring right back at her with such intensity. The humor in his tone was somewhat difficult to find, and the way he stared her down, in utter concentration, it caused her pace to sputter. "What are you looking at!" She finally found herself shouting, chucking a pillow in his direction.

It softly thumped against his forehead, before falling back onto the bed. He remained still, his blank stare boring a hole in her direction. It was only until a few seconds later in which he immediately shook his head, chuckling nervously before turning away from her, his legs slipping out of the bed. "Whoa…what was I thinking? Man it really is late. _We_ have _got_ to _get up_!" Each word an octave higher, she watched as he scrambled to get out of the room.

"Jeez, Naruto,…pft. What were you…ttthinking?" Scrubbing angrily at his teeth, he stared directly into the mirror. Hiding himself was not as easy as it used to be. "This has got to stop!" He finally shouted, unable to contain himself. Quickly he covered his mouth that was crammed in toothpaste. The peppermint aroma stung at his eyesight. "I have to stop talking to myself." Whispering, he bent towards the sink to spit away the gunk in his mouth.

"What is wrong with you?" Asked Ino, bewildered. Scaring him half to death, Naruto instinctively jerked, his head knocking against the cabinet knob that stuck out above of the mirror. Instead of chuckling at his idiocy, she carried on with observing, finding his behavior much more strange than usual.

"Ah!" Howling in pain he stroked at the small bump that formed at the side of his head. "I mean…man, we should get going with grocery shopping right? I mean we haven't eaten a decent meal in days! You should go get ready!" He shouted, shutting the door briskly in front of her before he continued to wash away at his mouth.

Ino squinted her eyes, scratching at the back of her earlobe. Did he really do that, she questioned. What was wrong with Naruto, this morning was wacky even for him. Usually he was calm and cool, taking things in stride. Although it was kind of humorous to find him running around and what not, it concerned her. "Maybe I shouldn't be mean to him." She took her time to step away from the door, turning to return to her room.

Not that she has not taken notice, but the dry spot that irritated her throat proceeded to grow. She sneezed, feeling the roof of her mouth tickle, her nose clogging. Breathing through her mouth was now a hassle. "Eh, damn that guy. I knew sleeping in these clothes was a bad idea." She tugged at the now dry shirt, figuring that with the change of temperature she must have caught a bad cold.

---- ---- ----

No, he was not trying to avoid her. He just did not think it was the best time to behave the way he regularly did, especially when being close to Ino meant trying to fight the impulse that troubled him. So he felt that walking a few steps in front of her would settle himself. But it only raised questions further for Ino.

"Hey, I know I have a cold or something but I don't have rabies." She rolled her eyes, feeling alienated at the moment. "Or aids for that matter--"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" He turned, grinning at her before he ran into the shopping center.

A frown formed on her face, she let out a sigh. Deciding that just watching him make a fool out of himself from outside was enough. She knelt by the curb, gently tugging at her cotton white arm warmers, crossing her legs. Her fingers pulled out what she could no longer wait to drink, exposing the half-empty Nyquil she has been devoting a few hours too. "Bottoms up." Eyes closed shut, she took a thirsty swallow for the thick, cherry based liquid. Never quite believing in directions, hence her lack of cook books, she thought that a nice bottle of the cough syrup junk her parents would always give her could be an aid to her foolish cold. Her mouth squirmed, her tongue sticking out to express her distaste for medicine. "Ugh, that is some nasty…nasty stuff…" A small smile formed, putting away the plastic bottle back into pocket of her plum tinted skirt. When she finally did open her eyes, she was greeted by a tall figure in front of her.

"So…this is what you've resorted to." Shikamaru shoved his hands to his pockets, peering below at the girl that used to be a part of his team. "I didn't know you drank alcohol, Ino."

"I don't, idiot!" Was her first response, although her smile remained. "It's a cough…medicine thing. You know I don't drink."

He grinned in her direction, slightly amused by her enduring behavior even after all these years. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in your flower shop?"

"…_No_. What is _that_ supposed to mean?" Appearing somewhat crossed she shook her fist at him.

"I was just wondering if you've forgotten to be a ninja yet--" In regards to others, he would have been quick to keep his mouth shut. But after years of tolerating Ino's notorious loud mouth ways, he figured the best way he could do to repay her was to irritate her all the same. Oh, the irony.

"Excuse me!" She shouted, he suddenly found himself shuddering at the recognizable tone. "I haven't forgotten! I just…so I took a two year hiatus. Who's to say I won't get back into the game?"

"Relax, Ino. It was merely a joke." He assured her. Since playing a nice game of shogi and winning, once again, to his former sensei Asuma, he guessed the rest of his day would consist of nonchalant day dreaming and cloud watching.

"Yeah, yeah." Nodding, she was just content to stumble upon someone besides the blonde haired wonder.

888888888

"Hmm, where the hell is the milk?" He rubbed his ear, taking a fleeting glance behind him. He was briefly surprised by the absence of his roommate, but thought nothing of it. As he continued into the aisle, feeling the cold chills waver, his sight perked at the figure only a few feet from him.

She had her back to him, her short rosy locks entwined in a finger as she pondered over the prices of yogurt. He watched her lean to one side, his heart taking a few leaps against his chest. 'Forget the milk.'

"I don't know…do I have enough if I--" She paused, cutting herself off. Sakura suddenly narrowed her eyes, focusing her attention upon the various cold items in front of her. An unnerving chill danced down her spine, the hue of blood rushing to her cheeks now exposed. "Naruto, isn't this getting old?" She spoke casually, turning to meet face to face with the one and only hyperactive ninja.

"Sakura-chan!" He spoke in a matter of sing-song. Grinning widely, he placed both hands behind his head. "It's been a while."

"Yeah, yeah." Sakura could not help but return a smile, finding his statement true. It truly has been a while since he last annoyed her. She was getting to sort of miss the way he would appear out of nowhere.

"What brings you into these parts?" His attempt to behave composed failed miserably, he wound up banging against the case of eggs, having to bend almost backwards in order to catch the carton and prevent it from making a scene. Sakura giggled, forgetting just how clumsy her friend used to be.

"Food." She responded.

"Hey you thought that was funny?" He leered, inching his way nearer. So close, he took in the scent of her laundry detergent. "Say Sakura…" He grabbed onto the bottle of yogurt in her hands, "when are you going to take me up on that date?"

She sighed, "Naruto," a frown blemished upon her pale features, "I already told you--"

"Sure you did. But common Sakura, I can show you a good time, I swear." He crossed his fingers from behind, hoping that this may as well be the luckiest day of the week.

"I don't know…" Tapping her finger against her bottom lip, she mused over the idea of a free diner. Besides, would it be so wrong to give him at least one chance? He wouldn't bother her for a few months after that. "I…I guess--"

"YES!" He jumped, pumping his fist in mid air. "Are you serious?" Feeling his limbs jitter at the thought. His smile deepened.

"Yes, yes…" Her eyes trailed, wondering how much of a crowed he was going to draw in with his loud comments. "How about Saturday? I'm not busy then okay?" Taking a few steps back she waved him one last goodbye before heading out to the cashier.

Once she was out of sight, Naruto made a grab for anything within arms length, latching upon the broom stick that laid beside him. Quickly swooping it between his legs in a dancing manner, he could not control the rhythm that would exceed him.

At first it was humming, because the song was engraved in his mind ever since he hopped out of the shower. His legs bucked, hips shaking side to side. Using the broom stick as another one of his microphones he stuck it under his mouth before he shouted to the world, "Yeeaaaah, I can mash potato, I can mash potato….I can do the twist….I can do the twist!" He twisted, flicking the broom stick into the air, turning around in 360 degree measure before catching it with his other hand. "Well tell me Sakura…" He pulled the broom close, running his hands through the yellow fibers, "Do you like it like this?…Tell me…Tell me!"

"Ooooooh…Do you LOVE me?" He shouted, his voice echoing through out the aisles, a few customers even stopped their routine shopping to look in the direction of the singing voice. "Do you LOVE me--?" Eyes that opened shortly, grew into saucers when they witnessed Ino standing only a few feet away. "--Di..Woops…" Naruto grabbed a chunk full of blonde hair, hoping that the pain would subside the embarrassment he was feeling at the moment. "I mean I…" He stammered, watching her stepping closer to him.

"No…go on…" She smirked, motioning her hand. "I'd like to hear this, it sounds interesting…"

"No I think we should go," He could feel the blood irking, filling his ears, his cheeks. His head now hung, he counted the squares that made up the tiles, keeping his view away from the girl that giggled at him.

"Naruto, common." Ino's thumb pressed against his chin, lifting them to her eyesight. Her index finger tucked under in order to balance his head. "No really, I'd like to hear what possessed you to do that." Letting out one delicious laugh, she felt him push her away.

"Okay, okay, I get it. Hardy har-har." He took a few steps in front of her, thrusting his palms inside his jeans.

"Aww, Naruto. You're such a beautiful dancer--"

"I GET IT!" He shouted, throwing his arm in frustration. The idea to go food shopping as well as the generosity to pay for every single item was now diminished along with his self pride.

"Don't get all nasty on me now, I watched you dance before after all…" She suppressed a laugh, following him outside the glass doors. Rather than commenting on how much of a brilliant singer he was, she covered her mouth coughing. Feeling her eyes water, she grunted at the itch that arose on her throat. "Man I hate being sick."

"Serves you right, you shouldn't go and make fun of people like that." Naruto barked, approaching one of the several vending machines that were aligned in front of the supermarket. He jammed a few coins in the metal slot before pushing upon a few buttons. Eyebrows arched, Ino gaped at the teenager as he grabbed onto the bottle of cheap sake. Of course, anything could be sold in vending machines nowadays, she never thought in her day they would unnervingly sell alcohol in those devices.

"Naruto, don't drink Sake!" She attempted to pull away the drink from his mouth, but he shifted to the side faster than she could reach. She then frowned as he downed the glass container to half empty. "What are you doing?"

"Oh please…it's not that bad. Everyone always says it tastes bitter but I beg to differ," He licked his lips, tipping the bottle in her direction. "Want some?"

Her face flushed, she stuck her hands in front of her, "N-No!" The previous thoughts of being such an opponent to alcoholic beverages, she knew she could not go back on her worlds so soon like that. Not to mention the legend behind _sharing_ drinks.

"Oh common, it's good for your coughs." He continued, bobbing the bottle.

"No I don't think so…you seem to want it all--"

"Heh, no I was slightly thirsty," He explained, "Actually you look parched. What are you misses goody two shoes?"

She frowned, offended by his remark. Automatically, she snatched the bottle from his hands, squeezing her nostrils shut before she gulped the liquid down to the last drop. "There are you satisfied?" Unfortunately, as she shoved the container in his direction, she could feel the effects of the Nyquil finding her reflexes at a slower pace.

In fact, things have gotten a lot slower in the past few hours.

"Well you didn't have to finish the whole thing." He shot back, throwing the bottle in the trashcan, sulking. He returned his gaze to find Ino with a sad glint in her eyes, quickly the guilt itched at him. "Alright, alright. I don't mind." He admitted, pulling her at his side. His hand cupped the blue material of the Konoha metal protector that slung around her waist.

"No, idiot." She rolled her eyes at him, 'That's _not _what I meant.'

--- --- ---

Perhaps feeding her sake on an empty stomach was a bad thing. Maybe, he should have thought a little more before trying to pressure her into drinking it. Naruto bit his lip, holding onto Ino to prevent her from falling off balance. She was quite the light drinker, in his opinion.

Oddly enough, her behavior has gone unstable. It has altered from irritation to just plain silly. Any ol' witty sounding word would have her quickly giggling uncontrollably. Tipsy as she was, she was able to grab onto him for dear life. Her fist seized a chunk of his cotton orange shirt, rosy lines covered her cheeks. In all honesty, she was quite an adorable, funny drunk. "Wait, what did you say? Man now _that _was funny…" A rush of sniggers filled the atmosphere. Eyelids shut, she placed but all balance on poor Naruto. "You're so funny Naruto, you're so freaking hilarious…thank god you're handsome." She pinched his cheeks, shaking his head back and forth with her tugs.

He did not know how to put his finger on this, she was so _gleeful_. Not to mention she could not shut up, she's been babbling ever since they've crossed the bridge in order to start heading to their neighborhood. A nervous smile appeared, he waved at the people they have passed, hoping that they were too ignorant to pay attention to the inebriated Ino in his arms, or so he thought. "Ino…honey…" He stated slowly as they made their way down the street, passing by a few apartments on the way. "We're almost there, okay?"

"There? Yeah I know we're there, my house is that way!" She smiled innocently, pushing herself forward as she eagerly pointed towards the lime covered building. It took the velocity of a fox to get Naruto to latch onto her just in time. "Silly, you're so _silly_, Ma-an I'm so tired." She commented, taking a few coughs before she continues walking.

Watching over Ino has become a task fitted for a baby sitter. He never knew she actually possessed such a behavior. If it was not so hard to observe her, he would have found it just adorable. All that was needed was to dress her in pig-tails and she would be the best five year old he's known.

"Alright we're here!" Relieved, he watched her intently, hoping that she'd just enter the house and fall asleep. He threw the keys onto the table, aligning his arm so as to point demandingly towards the direction of the opened door. "Ino, get in!"

"Hey Naruto, we should train." She caught herself from falling onto the floor. A sickly silly smile spread across her mouth, "Please? I forgot to ask. You wouldn't say no right?…"

Naruto dragged his hand across his face, exasperating. "Gee, I don't know Ino. You're sort of sick at the moment,"

"Ah, relax. Go beet off for a while," Her tongue clicked, she then made an obscene gesture with her hand, eyes rolling.

"WHAT?" Completely catching _that _comment off guard he rolled his sleeves, fed up with her manners for today, "Okay, now you asked for it. But you can't get mad at me if you end up with a cut, okay?"

"Sure, sure. I'll meet you outside!" Smiling happily, she skipped back outside.

He frowned, grasping just what he has accepted himself into.

Ino wobbled her way a few strides, "Aye, let's see…" She brought her hands in front of her, making a few hand seals, "Now if I remember this correctly," She smiled, happy to know that she has not forgotten most of her seals. "I might win this if I do this right." Nodding, she brought her hands to her sides, awaiting the presence of Naruto.

Waiting. And waiting. She watched the sky morph from a pallid into an dark indigo tint. The coolness lifted, bringing a few shivers. Idle chatter has now ended, and the on coming greetings of by passers has also ceased. Ino kicked at the surface, wondering how long it would take for the idiot to arrive. Sighing she tapped her index fingers together, humming a small tune in her head. It was becoming hard to stay awake. Fighting against sleep, she was determined that prove just one thing. She was a Konoichi at heart.

Out of the blue

"You should stay focused on a battlefield," A husky, rough whisper roused Ino. Her vision foggy by the mist that enveloped her. Naruto pressed his lips against her ear, the echo of his breaths bringing warm shivers. He grabbed onto her torso, hoping that she'd just quit while he was ahead, while she was scratch-less.

"You shouldn't sneak up on people like that!" A voice called out, Naruto looked ahead to find Ino's daring glare. Her hands were linked together, exposing that she had finished her shadow clone technique. He grinned, feeling his grip loosen with a poof, the girl he held onto now turned into a pile of logs.

Possibly, she was not so smashed as he had initially thought.

"Funny you should say that." He smiled, his ear perking at a sizzling sound below him. Witnessing the exploding notes prepared to commit what they were intended to he bounded, relatively surprised by his lack of attentiveness. "I guess you really are determined, heh." He brought his hand to block away the dust particles from the explosion.

"Shut up and fight." Her hands lifted the kunai fingers enclosing around the sharp weapon.

"Ino don't hurt yourself now!" He was convinced that just about any Chunin-level ninja was capable of doing such. By the way her arms staggered, she would be down for the count at any minute. And so, he decided it was just best to keep to himself until she just tired herself out.

Wordlessly she dashed, bringing her kunai above her head, shouting in equivalence to a warrior. Naruto shook his head, concurring with his last notion. Arms opening he watched as she came closer, hoping that with a simple snatch he could end this 'fight' rather promptly.

"Take this!" Ino smirked, he squinted in her direction. Once she was at arms length he reached for her kunai, only to find her disappear in yet another mist of smoke.

"What the--?"

He looked behind him, witnessing nothing but the empty, desolate streets of Konoha. The resonance of crickets and owls filling his ears.

"Over here!" Above him, he looked to find Ino unexpectedly fling her kunai. He was only able to dodge a dangerous portion of the blade, wincing as the tip grazed over his shoulder. So much for avoiding any cuts and scraped. He swayed a few paces, his body colliding with the hard exterior of a tree.

"Gah!" He slumped onto the tree, his bottom crashing onto the firm ground with a thud. "Okay, okay…" Panting, he decided that it was enough for a day. He watched as Ino approached him, hopping onto him as if he were some sort of soft cushion. "Oof!"

"I won!" She brought her hands to the air, cheering for herself.

"In case you have not realized, you are not a pillow."

"Oh just say that I won…" Ino closed in on his face, her breaths softly touching his mouth. So close, he could detect the scent of sake and some sort of medicine. He flushed at the idea of how intimate this all appeared, bringing his arms away in order to prevent any sudden movement that he would regret later.

"You didn't win, I'm just tired."

"I won…cccllllllear and simple." Overstressing her words, she examined the blotch of crimson that grew on the orange cotton shirt he wore. She frowned, pulling away at the weapon, receiving another groan. "Hey did I hurt yoooou? I didn't mmmmean to. I'm sorry." A genuinely concerned stare was now induced, and he found himself captivated by the sad look in her beautiful eyes.

"No, it doesn't hurt. My fault--"

She placed her fingertips onto his cheeks, pushing forward for her lips to cover his in an unexpected kiss. He widened his eyes, unable to speak as she pressed her tongue against his. It was a warm, gentle kiss. The taste of sake and cherry Nyquil filled his taste buds. It struck a nerve. A tender sprung of flutters swirled inside him, and he found himself wanting to return those feelings, those bunched up sentiments that swirled in her gesture, in her kiss.

"I'm sorry." She pulled away, nestling her hidden expression onto his shoulder.

Naruto stared out into the open, the only source of light at this point became the moon. It's colorless tint providing a glow to his atmosphere. He watched countless leaves sway as they descended from the fair blows of the wind. The house that he called his home had the door open, exposing the various junk that he called belongings.

He wished he could have thought of something to say at the moment, something soothing, _romantic_ even. But she had him speechless, and although he's unwittingly flirted with her, he never thought she would respond the way she did. He could feel the pace of his heart deepen, a sense of heat covering his abdomen. He flicked his tongue to take that last taste of sake he loved so much.

Awkward as it was, he sort of felt at ease with this feeling, bringing an arm to embrace Ino he peered below to find that she was fast asleep. Again, no one seemed to have surprised him as much as Ino could.

He smiled affectionately at the girl who snored quietly, lifting her closer to his chest. A small empty plastic bottle of Nyquil fell onto ground, rolling a few feet before Naruto stopped it with his foot. His smiled grew, placing two and two together in a clever mathematical equation. "I see…" He arose from the ground, towards the direction at the home that awaited them both. Taking one last glance at the blonde before him he whispered,

"…You win, Ino."

----------------

A/N: Thank you for your support, I appreciate every single review. Hey 6 chapters and I didn't even end this story, lol. That's something! Anyway, I sorta want to apoligize about my other story, I sort of ended it because I grew really bored with it and concentrated on this one. Hehe.

Okay I'll probably blame this on the fact that it's 3:18 a.m but...(giggles) I feel so stupid for asking because I'm probably the only one who thinks this but...hehe okay uh...when you listen to R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet" do you EVER imagine the Naruto characters in it? LOL. I swear to god I imagine them everytime I listen to that song! Thats why I love the song! Maybe it's my imagination. Now I feel sorta dumb, ah well. Night.


	7. Would it count?

Chapter: 7

And just like that, she awoke, flinching. Believing that a headache was more than prepared to take control. And just like that, there was nothing. Not a headache, not a stomachache, nor a cold. Smiling, she took a full stretch, breathing in at her fullest before quickly pulling the covers off of her. "Ah…I feel better now!" She yawned through her mouth, content to know that the murky feelings she had before was now over.

But Ino's relaxing yawn soon turned into a wordless gasp, she found Naruto peacefully asleep aside her. Now, although this should have been quite the expected, Ino could not help slowly creeping out of bed to keep from stirring him away. She scratched at the back of her head, in her utmost struggling attempt to recall the events of the past night. The only memory that she could reminisce was taking a swing at the awful tasting Sake she tried at some point. She frowned, not akin to the idea of blacking out, it was not customary for her.

Ino peered below, still puzzled by the idea of unmatched sleepwear on her. And then it hit her, the idea of Naruto changing her out of her clothes was not appealing to her at all.

Shooting an angry glare in his unconscious condition, before she could raise her hand to give him a nice whack on a morning like this, she paused and realized that he has only meant good intentions for what he has done, since day _one_. Instead of striking him, she lessened her fierce stare and felt herself loosen at the sight of a Naruto she's seen so rarely. Tranquil and composed.

"Yeah, I should get him a futon or something…"

The neon lights upon her alarm clock read 8:38 a.m, of course it was clearly the onset of morning. On other days, Ino would be swift to grunt and groan at the early morning hours, but this day has proven to be unlike most. She blamed it on the Nyquil and Sake.

Anyway, as tempted as she was to awake Naruto with a bucket full of ice, the idea of a warm shower was calling her. Even if she had not the slightest idea of what occurred after the whole medicine consuming business, she had a hunch that it probably dealt with her lame inebriated behavior that she could not conceal.

Not to mention the waver of embarrassment towards the boundless situations that could have ensued, she hoped he could forgive her for anything _stupid_ she could had committed. Whatever it may be.

As time progressed, there passed showers, a change of clothes, as well as a quick snack to mend the bizarre hunger she felt. Still, passing through her bedroom she watched Naruto shift to the left, clutching at the pillow that she once used. Cocking an eyebrow, she thought how odd it has been for waking up so early in yet he's been doing quite the opposite.

Nevertheless, she knew she had a long day ahead of her.

--- --- ---

"Morning, Miss Yamanaka." Another person called out, but they were too far to be recognized. It amazed her how perky the world was at a time like this, as well as how active it was. As she passed through the streets, she found the streets of Konoha awake at her footsteps. Fish markets were arranged, fruit stands assembled, it was amusing to find the world so animated in front of her.

The journey to the central part of Konoha was quite a long one. While Ino resided beside the rural area, it was fun to see how lively the city side of Konoha would be. Yet, there remained a moment of shuddering each time she thought of visiting the Hokage since it's been quite a while.

As she finished walking up the extended flight of stairs, she was both shocked and surprised to see Sakura. There she stood, chatting nonchalantly with another one of Tsunade-sama's employees. Ino tried to casually pass by her, but recoiled once Sakura called out her name, appearing to have finished her conversation.

She held her hand in the air, waving it softly from side to side, as her other hand cupped upon her lips, calling out her name loudly, "Ino, Ino! Good morning," She giggled girlishly, smiling sweetly at her friend from afar. Ino grumbled under her breath before returning her warm glance.

And she once thought this was going to be an easy morning.

"Uh, hi Sakura," Feeling slightly awkward, she awaited for the pink haired medical nin-in training to respond. She then regrettably stepped closer to Sakura, sighing tiredly.

"What are you, tired, Ino-pig?" The words flowed so effortlessly, unscathed by the insult that came long with it. Sakura leaned forward, holding her report papers back as she grinned sarcastically.

"Not really, surprisingly," Defenses arose, Ino placed her hands upon her hips, eyes squinted in the other young woman's direction. _'Say something, Sakura.' _"So watcha doing? Filling out rent papers for that big forehead of yours, ne?" She finished with a satisfied smirk indeed.

A hue of scarlet crossed under her eyes, Sakura's palms formed fists, crumpling the papers she held. A small growl reverberated from her throat, "Aha. What are _you _doing here Ino? This should be the last place to be, in fact, you're not much of a Kunoichi from what I heard."

"Oh, so where'd you get your sources, miss forehead?" Feeling quite snubbed, she knew it was a bad idea to spot Sakura in the first place.

"Common Ino, you haven't been in a mission for two years." Ino gritted her teeth, finding the comment alone enough indication to give Sakura what she's been asking for so very long. Instead, she hesitated.

"Yeah, you're right." Was all she could muster, an effort to keep her cool.

Sakura was puzzled by the sudden agreement, but ignored it. "Oh yeah, nice swimming there from the night before. You put on quite the show."

That was _it_.

"You think so!" She shouted an octave too high, pulling up on her sleeve, baring her teeth in Sakura's direction.

"Actually I do."

"You haven't proven yourself any better."

"Is that a challenge?" Sakura stared down daringly at her blonde friend, completely eager for the chance to make her look foolish. She watched Ino squirm, the irritated expression from her features dying. "Oh, I guess I was right-"

"Fine." She shouted, quickly biting her lip, finding it difficult to repress her true impression of this whole situation. Just looking at Sakura from this point angered her so. "Fine, then! Care to put your money where your mouth is?"

Sakura laughed, "You couldn't afford it."

"No, no." Ino let out an exasperated sigh, "I guess you're right. You wouldn't be able to win the bet-"

"Oh that's what you think?"

"No Sakura, honey," Ino took the other's hand, giving her knuckles a few taps. "It's okay, I know you'll probably look like a fool in front of everyone once you lose-"

"Excuse me!" Sakura cocked an eyebrow, "Okay then," Her gaze turned towards the outskirts of Konoha. They were at the top stair, staring below at the rest of the city. She appeared to be in deep thought. As the wind blew a few strands of her short rosy bangs, she then turned her attention back to Ino, smiling. "I have a mission next week, so how about two weeks?" She grinned, offering her hand for a shake. "Loser buys the other a top dollar meal, okay?"

Without much thought, Ino grasped Sakura's hand, giving it a few solid shakes in the midst of sneering at her friend. "Done." She noted before pulling away.

"Alrighty Miss Yamanaka." Pleased, Sakura let out one last wave before heading down the steps in which Ino once walked in.

In such a arrogant manner, Ino sauntered down the hall, towards the Hokage-sama's door, feeling her ego swell with each step. '_Sure I can beat her, hell yes. I can kick her ass at swim--'_

She stopped dead in her tracks. Lowering her gaze from the ceiling to blink to herself. '_Swimming?' _She cursed loudly to herself, her wicked words echoing down the foyer. Truth was, she had no idea of swimming. Of course it was _obvious_ that ninjas should at the very _least_ know how to swim but she always had some sort of fear when it came to the deep blue.

Aye, she exhaled miserably.

How the hell was she supposed to know how to swim? Especially in _two_ weeks? She grimaced, taking her anger out on the wall with a loud knock of her palm.

Eh, well. As her mind started to figure out strategies, the way Shika always did…._Of course! _A smile formed upon her lips, her hands reaching for the knob to open the door.

"Tsunade-sama!" She cried out, happier than usual. "I've come with a proposal!"

"…" Tsunade flinched, her idea of 'drifting' to sleep before Shizune came back now laid to rest. "I-Ino?" Slightly shocked by the young girl who came closer, she pressed her back onto her chair. "So, what brings you here?"

--- --- ---

"You'-re jea-lous." He sang, turning to his friend with a cheesy smile literally _plastered_ on his face. He tilted closer to Sasuke, his smile soon turning into a taunting grin.

"Ugh," Sasuke shoved him away in disgust, snapping his tongue. "Ever heard of personal space?"

"Oh please Sasuke, you can keep being an asshole but we all know…oh…" It was delicious mocking his best friend, and even though he would never admit it. "Do we all--"

"Enough, alright?" He narrowed his glare, finding it hard to eat with the grinning idiot just STARING at him like that.

"OH you're so jealous I'm going to take Sakura out on a date--"

"I'm not interested in Sakura." He interrupted, knowing that Naruto would never believe him.

"Alright. Fine." He spun himself around the chair, waiting for Sasuke to stick his foot onto the base like he always did. And just like he predicted, his friend did not hesitate for a second. "Keep lying to yourself like that."

"…" Sasuke sighed heavily, he could never explain what possessed him into ever hanging out with the loud Shinobi but of course there were always times when he wished he never had.

"I'm going to have the best time tonight too--"

"Don't jinx yourself." Sasuke rotated his chair half way, leaning his back onto the counter of the ramen shop. He closed his eyes, taking a full gulp off his drink, kicking his legs. Actually, now that he thought about it, why does he always hang out with Naruto when he had his free time?

"Oh I won't, buddy of mine."

"We'll see." Sasuke murmured. Privately, he wished for the whole get together to crash and burn, in all honesty. Then _he _could finally be the one musing over the irony.

--- --- ---

"There he is." She whispered, pushing away the leaves out of her way. So much for being quiet. No matter, she guessed by the way he gazed at the atmosphere that he probably did not take heed. A smile crept her lips, she crawled closer, flinching at the tickling sensation of leaves softly grazing against her bare skin. Perhaps, this time she could surprise him.

There he rested, his legs sprawled out onto the olive blades of grass. His head tucked atop his folded arms, half lidded dark orbs starred intently at the fluffy cloud forms in the deep blue.

Creeping, she inched her way only a few feet from him. Her patience wearing thin, she could not restrain the chuckles that longed to blurt out. Inhaling deeply, she sat herself onto the grassy surface, arms rising to give a startling surprise to the teenager in front of her.

"Ino, are you done?" Shikamaru raised his head, cocking an eyebrow in her direction. Ino huffed out the air that was once filled in her lungs. Disappointed, she settled herself at his side, grumbling as her back ruthlessly hit the ground.

"Couldn't you have let me know?"

"Meh," He wavered his hand, "That would be too troublesome."

"Figures." Ino blurted out, shifting her attention towards the clouds in the sky.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He asked casually, his eyes never leaving the sky.

"I was going to ask the same thing!" Ino shouted, followed by a hoard of giggles that caused her poor friend to cringe, a sudden reminder of how she behaved when they were younger.

"Che, you haven't changed."

"Not yet," She could only grin.

"Alright." Allowing a few moments to pass, Shikamaru allowed his response to linger in the air before asking, "What do you want?"

"Whatever do you mean, Shika?" A fake accent indeed.

"Ooh, no, what am I thinking? You always come here, right?" He sighed, finding this chatter to be redundant. He was never joyful when it came to interrupting his sky-gazing.

"Okay, okay. Mr. Sarcasm," Ino rolled her eyes, turning to face him, "I need a favor, friend."

"Oh. I thought you wanted to visit an old friend--"

"That too!"

"What is it?" He asked, impatiently.

"Hey you know how you are a Jonin and all, right? Which means you're qualified to be a teacher…riiiight? And a good civilian of Konoha would never back down on an opportunity--"

"Spit it out already--"

"I need to learn how to swim," Ino heaved a sigh, awaiting the taunting comments. "And quick."

"Swim?"

"I don't know how to OKAY?" Defensively, she gritted her teeth.

"You don't know how to swim?" He repeated, somewhat dumbstruck at the news.

Groaning, Ino quickly sat up. "If you're not going to help me, just say so!"

"No, that's not what I meant." Shikamaru scratched his head, his intellect at its highest attempt to recall a moment their past missions required swimming, but was shocked to find none. "I've never realized it before." He shifted his gaze onto Ino, "You shouldn't be so defensive."

"Is that a yes?"

"Feh." He shrugged, pulling himself into a sitting position. It wasn't like he had better things to do anyway.

--- --- ---

He waited, standing in front of her door. Not that he was timing her, but he found that watching the second hand tick was much more fascinating than what the color of the ground had to offer. His heart pounded, he prayed that the night would go as he planned, and she could finally see him for what he is.

"Hey Naruto, sorry for making you wait." Sakura pulled the door open, letting herself out. Jabbing the key into the socket, she twisted it absent mindedly before turning to smile at the blonde teen.

He blinked, finding himself speechless by the way she was able to make herself so attractive in so little time. He tugged the collar of his pallid shirt, feeling the hem of the top unbutton. Swallowing at the portion of saliva in his mouth, he literally could hear his gulp echoing into his eardrums. He never thought he'd be this nervous.

She chuckled half heartedly, finding his blank stare amusing. Taking a hold of his arm she pulled herself closer. Perhaps, the autumn weather was an advantage. "So, where are we going?"

His face flushed as he peered down at her, a small heart shaped pin was clipped to keep her bangs away from her face. She wore a silk top that hugged her curves gently, matching the tone of her short hair. "D-I…I" Chuckling nervously, his trail of thought appeared to have turned into putty. "Well to eat of course," He managed to mumbled, heading off to walk away from Sakura's home, with the very girl attached to his arm.

He just hoped she couldn't feel his arm trembling.

--- --- ---

"How the hell is this teaching?" Ino bit her lip, keeping herself from rolling her eyes. The afternoon was now over, in her dearest opinion, and night was nearing. "We've done nothing but look at the DAMN sky all day!" Irritated, she thought that he had already gotten the hint the last twenty times she's bothered him.

"Concentration," He huffed out, finding every other of Ino's remarks just plain unnecessary.

"That's beautiful, Shika, but I've been _concentrating _for a few hours now." The blonde angrily snatched a few blades of grass, chucking it in the raven haired teen's face. At this rate, she believed she was not going to head for the water at all. A small part of her was actually relieved with this notion.

"Oh yeah? Fine then. Let's go." Rather uncannily, Shikamaru pushed himself up onto the ground. Grasping Ino's wrist in the process, she cried out in shock, as she was dragged towards the stream that awaited her fate. Unfortunately, she overlooked that torrent of water before she went off on her ranting.

"Wait--I don't know. WE CAN'T GO! NOT NOW!" Her cerulean orbs enlarged, finding the site of water rather threatening. She attempted to pry his fingers off of her wrist but they would not budge. The heels of her sandals dug into the grass, dew and dirt scrapping onto her shoes. Shikamaru continued to lead her, carelessly stepping into the water fully clothed. Ino cringed at the cool sensation of water that soaked into her shoes.

"Relax, you can't even drown yet." Shikamaru spoke soothingly, as he proceeded to take more steps.

"Okay, okay but stop for a second, please!" Ino gripped his green vest, pulling him closer.

"Jeez stop, I thought you wanted to learn how to swim!" Growling lowly, he turned to see her frightened expression. He did not expect her to be so scared, and instead of taunting her, decided against it. "Alright, you're going to have to trust me," He walked backwards, taking a hold of both her hands as the water mounted to their hips.

Ino focused on the stream, recoiling with each step. When the running water reached her chest, she felt her heart leap, ears burning with fear. Slowly, she lifted her chin to meet Shikamaru's warm glance.

"This is going to sound rather foolish, but you're going to have to move your feet back and forth." He advised, pulling her farther from the riverside. "Don't worry I'm right here--"

"Don't talk to me like I'm five, Shika." She squinted her eyes in his direction.

"Don't act like you're five, Ino." He found the way she gasped at any small splash of water amusing.

--- --- ---

"Hey Sakura-Chan." Naruto lifted his gaze away from the menu, smiling at the adorable expression that played upon Sakura's features, the way she focused on the small lettering.

"Oh," Unbeknownst to how spaced out she was, she smiled nervously, "I thought you were going to take me to a ramen shop."

Anger pinched him, the sudden outburst of letting her know that he wasn't UBER obsessed with Ramen the way everyone else believed, he suppressed that emotion for a moment; He exhaled noisily, a grin covering his annoyance. "No, I just thought to it'd be nice to take you to a place much more special."

"Aha…," Sakura slid her finger in midair, "This is a really fancy place, do you think you can afford it?"

"Sure I can." He crinkled his eyes.

"You're an idiot," She giggled, placing her finger upon the small text. "I want that."

Naruto leaned over the table, reading the print, "A salad? Are you KIDDING me? I went out of my way to look for this place and you're eating a salad?"

"I'm not hungry! I already ate before we came. I'm sorry Naruto, you should've let me know beforehand…"

"You women are all the same." He threw his head back, letting out a sigh. Feeling slightly guilty, Sakura stretched her arm, running her hands through his fair haired spikes. Suddenly, all the frustration and nerves that ran through him at the moment altered to the tickling sensation that splashed his abdomen. Perhaps, he could deal with this the whole day.

"I'm sorry Naruto." She grinned sheepishly.

--- --- ---

"Finished yelling yet?" Arching an eyebrow, the Jonin could not help but smirk tauntingly at Ino.

"How do you think I can swim that far, yet? What if I drown!" She banged her fist into the water, splitting the stream as a few drops splattered onto Shikamaru's hair.

"You're not going to drown, again, how many times do I have to tell you? And, it's only a foot. Ino if you don't even try this whole thing would be pointless."

"Fine, fine." She pulled her hands away from his grip, fingering her soaked bangs away from her face. The cuffs of her sleeves attached to her wrists, and she her violet vest stick to her like glue. "You're right here _right_, if I start to drown--"

"You're not going to drown--"

"But what if I do--"

"Alright, I'm here. Jeez." He rolled his eyes, taking a small glance at the gloomy tint of the sky. At this time, he would have been peacefully sleeping on his bed, instead of shivering in this damp river here. If people were to walk in on him, they would think he was crazy! People already thought Ino was crazy.

"Okay…" She sunk into the water, nothing but a few splashes was left of the girl. Shikamaru crossed his arms, awaiting for Ino to pop herself out like a whale, screaming for assistance. The thought of that caused him to smirk, really…Ino was such a character in his eyes. A few bubbles fizzed, but still no Ino. He glared at his reflection, the way the night played tricks on him, he could not see anything but his soon concerned expression and the array of stars twinkling behind him.

"Ino…" His voice staggered, he watched for a few more simmers to appear. The more he waited, the more his mind trailed into the multiple possibilities of what could in fact have happened to her. "…Ino if you don't come out…" Biting onto his lower lip, he raised his arms to take a dive. But before his limbs could touch the wetness, Ino emerged from the water, scaring him senseless.

"OKAY it really is deep!" She grasped his arm tightly, her toes could not longer feel the base of the water.

"Don't DO THAT!"

"…" She was dumbstruck, the evening winds forced her limbs to shiver uncontrollably. Catching sight of her low breaths, fog-like puffs of air, her lips quivered. Silence filled the void, the hush of the river flows hummed into her mind, the drip drops of cool water hitting the damp surface. Gradually, she raised her chin, gazing at the brown eyes that stared back at her.

"It's cold, isn't it?" Whispering, he could feel his face blush from the sheer awkwardness.

"Maybe we should go."

"Maybe we should." He murmured, fixated on attempting to find just exactly what it was that Ino was thinking at the moment. Never, even when they were children, could he tell what exactly was on her mind.

"Yeah…" Turning away, the very feeling of blood rushing under her eyes was enough to let her know it was about time to leave.

She would admit, it ended too _soon_.

--- --- ---

As he walked her in front of her small residence, he debated of how to exactly end their farewell. Temptation itched at him, and although he was one to take chances he knew that it was plain ol' going too fast for Sakura. Perhaps it was the little bad habit of reacting alongside his thinking, but once he turned to glance at Sakura, he could see her snickering.

"You're a funny one, Naruto." She beamed warmly at him, placing her hands behind her. Slightly leaning over she spoke again, "Well…I had a nice time, I underestimated how fun you really are," Grinning, she scratched at the back of her neck. "We should do this again…" It had appeared as if she were stalling, and because he knew he could not live with himself if he had not done it, in the rather abrupt fashion he moved forward, landing a kiss on Sakura's lips.

It was a small kiss, not lasting more than a few seconds. But boy, it brought a wave of nerves to quiver inside of the teenager. He pulled away, chuckling softly as he picked at his blonde hair. He expected a punch, a hard hit. When he finally did have the guts to open his eyes, he saw Sakura smiling, and it satisfied him so. He understood that she didn't quite feel the same but _damn _if he could _just_ make her fall in love with him…

"Thank you." She gave him a small peck on his cheek, turning to walk into her house. As she closed the door, Naruto caught sight of the blush hidden under her bangs.

And it was finally clear, maybe he did have a chance after all. Or so, that is what he hoped to believe. But by the way his mind was racing, he couldn't even walk a straight line in his haze.

The date did not exactly go as planned, but then again he had such unimaginable high expectations of this get together with Sakura-chan. Perchance, he should not have made so many idiotic one liners. He couldn't call it, but they'd always _work_ to make someone laugh when he needed it. Sakura didn't laugh as much as he had hoped, but then again she did tolerate him much more than usual, which he found quite odd.

He did not want to declare that the little rendezvous had left him with a bad taste in his mouth, and a sort of sour feeling in his gut. It was just…

It wasn't Sakura.

It was him.

He forced himself not to perform his little gags, his charm, the way he would work his magic with Ino. He tried his best not to spoil the date, that meant not acting like Naruto. The Naruto that he was used to, at least. Honestly, he did not like the way he acted, and he was disappointed. It was just…so _much_ to impress her, he _wanted_ to impress her. And he succeeded, just not the way he wanted to.

Either way, he would have lost. Which was a realization he did not want to face. Instead, he kept mentally silent the rest of the walk home. Only commenting on how hasty the change of weather has been, getting into the days of September.

He overlooked the fact that the front door was open and let himself in, hurriedly taking off his jacket, which he now hated. Throwing it to the side, he watched the material drape onto the couch. Taking a few steps forward, he heard the heels of his shoes click with the tiles on the ground. Now dismayed, he leaned against the side of the sofa, yanking the shoes off, also tossing them aside. He examined the rest of his attire, finding that indeed he was also revolted by what he was actually wearing. Yet, he was just too exhausted to begin stripping himself to the tee.

Heading into the hallway, he made an abrupt halt in front of Ino's door. Absentmindedly, he opened the door, finding the room surprisingly illuminating with the lampshade's radiance. He passed Ino, raising a questioning eyebrow at how she lazily snored, clutching onto her pillow. From just her bedside there was another sort of chaise longue-type thing that settled with a few pillows and rags on it. Naruto chuckled to himself, shaking his head from side to side. Apparently she did feel bad for him, so awful she went out of her way to buy him a futon! He knew that complaining to her would get things accomplished.

Disgusted with himself, he flopped onto the brown futon, bringing the cover to his face. Heaving a long sigh, he mumbled "Ino, you can finish playing asleep now. I've already caught on."

"I can't trick _anyone_!" Ino shouted, sitting herself on her bed. She placed her two hands in front of her, crawling a few inches closer to him. "So whatcha did all day?"

"One…" He raised his finger at her, "You left the door open. What if something happened to you?"

"Oh please, we're ninjas, idiot. As if some idiot is actually going to come in this house…"

He gently laughed at her comment, lifting another finger, "Two…Why the _hell_ did you drink a whole bottle of Nyquil? You were asleep for days."

"I was…wow…" She dragged her hand across her face, completely astonished. "No one told me!"

"I just did."

"Don't act smart with me, Naruto, I just bought you a bed."

"Why'd you do that, I was comfortable sleeping on that bed." He remarked, indifferently.

"What are you trying to say, that futon is so comfy!"

"Oh yeah, then you sleep in it." He got off the settee, flopping onto the mattress he was now familiarized with.

"What are you doing! That was expensive!"

"Then return it." He hauled the covers, hiding his face. Tick, tick, tick, it did not take much to set her off. And he liked it the most when it was his doing, personally.

"You always steal all the covers, damnit!" She kicked at him, rolling her eyes at the fairly phony snores that came from under the pillows and covers. "Fine." Fed up, she turned herself away from him, dropping her body onto the mattress. Stillness came afterward, for a few minutes to be exact, until Naruto interjected.

"Would it count, if you didn't act like yourself?" He murmured, soft enough to be heard in a close range but loud enough to flow through the covers.

"What are you talking about?" Curious, Ino twisted herself, meeting with a pile of covers.

"Nevermind." Came his reply. It fueled her anger, she jerked the blankets away, chucking them out of the bed.

"No, now you have to tell me!" Her eyes widened at the gloomy expression plastered on his face. She's never seen him sad before, and seeing him that way hit a nerve. She softened her gaze, speaking soothingly this time, "Nothing counts if you're not yourself."

Naruto picked at the string that hanged from the pillow's verge, keeping his focus away from Ino. "You're right."

"Common, kid. Don't be like that, it's _depressing_ me. Don't make me get a glass of water now." She threatened, expecting a smile to change his mood.

"You wouldn't wet your own bed now." He chuckled, continuing to lay onto the mattress.

"Why not? I wet the REST of this house!"

"You know, you're right about that." He nuzzled into the pillow, eyes closing. "Thanks Ino, you're a real sweetheart." And just like that, he fell asleep.

Cautiously, Ino returned back to laying on her side. Repeating his last comment in her mind, like a record player, she noticed the way her spirit fluttered, brushing her fingers against her mouth to acknowledge the smile that formed. Whether he meant it sarcastically, or genuinely, _You're a real sweetheart _brought those funny feeling flutters in her stomach.

--- --- ---

A/N: I apologize for making the whole NaruSaku moment short, I just…I can't _stand _Sakura. I tired my best to stick to her character without hinting the fact that I hate her. I hope I succeeded. And I thank all reviews, all supports, etc. I smile every time I look at my reviews.


	8. Happy Birthday Ino: Part 1

Chapter 8:

"What are you going to just lay there?" Ino frowned, chucking a few kunai in Shikamaru's direction, surprised to find that he did not budge. Purposely, all blades missed him, only grounding a few inches from his arms. Shikamaru situated himself beside a tree, unnerved. Sighing, Ino took a few steps closer, cocking an eyebrow. "I could hit you if I wanted to, _you know?_" She held her breath, becoming aware of just how empty her threat, beyond doubt.

"You don't have the guts." His eyes closed, he exhaled deeply. Again, another moment of daydreaming, interrupted. Lately, he hasn't been able to catch a peek of the clouds, Ino's been nagging at him, like his _mother_. He shuddered, not akin to that idea.

"I came here for help, Shika--" Feeling frustrated, Ino grinded her teeth together, the echoes of bones clashing throbbing into her ears.

"Che, you didn't even ask for my help for this one." The teenager twitched at the sound of her whines, as if she were _winding_ up for a round of verbal harassment.

"I didn't need to ask your help!" She cried out, raising her kunai in between her eyes, squinting to prepare a launch right at his head. "You can't be lazy, sooner or later you have to go to a mission _too_, right?"

A sudden grin appeared on Shikamaru's face, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I'm done with my spring break." Shika bent his neck, leaning his head to the side as he witnessed the kunai whiz by his ear, stabbing onto the tree a few feet behind him.

"Sure you are." He commented, proceeding to smirk at her, but instead yelped at the sight of a kunai heading straight for his face, ducking quickly to find the blade split onto the tree bark that he was lying upon. The blade split a few hairs atop of his head. He scratched at his ear nervously, turning to glance at the weapon, examining it. How could that be? He thought she only had five of those kunai. Shrugging, he pulled himself up to his feet, brushing the dirt that accumulating onto his vest. "…So I underestimated you…big deal."

"You have no friends, Shika, you know you love having me around." Ino chuckled, placing her hands on her hips.

This day was the usual for Ino Yamanaka, certainly she had grown accustomed to waking in the early morning hours, she's even had her hand at making breakfast. If you count milk and cereal as cooking, though. But it has become a routine for the blonde, to awake at the early hours and head on over to the dear ol' river that was awaiting her, and there would be her friend Shikamaru also awaited for her arrival, in a grumpy mood to boot. Yep, that has become her schedule for the past week now. Not to mention the entire ordeal of swimming through the bitter water.

Fortunately, she's gotten better, to the point where she hasn't had to scream bloody murder in the bottomless area of the river.

As much as she wanted to let Naruto know about her whereabouts, she hasn't seen much of the loud mouth ninja. Of course, he would make it his duty to leave a few post it notes…all over the house to mention a whole journal entry on how his day was. Oh, how she enjoyed ripping them out of her bedroom door and throwing those small yellow stickies into the trash. But really, it was thoughtful of him. According to the sticky notes, he was busy on a mission with Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-kun, and was to be back today.

To be honest, the past week has been rather quiet, and although she would not admit it, she's been using Shikamaru as a pseudo replacement for Naruto. She never realized just how much influence that guy has had on her. To the point where being alone was not as acceptable as it used to be. Like she used to like it.

"….and shouldn't you be at your folks home now?" The Jonin finished, his aggravation rising. Apparently, she has not been heeding any of his words. She continued to gaze blankly at his face, to the point where he started to snap his fingers in front of her face.

"Huh?" She said aloud, "Oh, folks home, why?"

"You're not serious, are you?" Shikamaru rolled his eyes, his hand shoving in his pocket to fiddle for an object of some sort. "You're the only person I know who would forget their own birthday." He spoke indifferently, pulling out a small box, nudging it in her direction. "Happy Birthday nonetheless, idiot."

Completely shocked, Ino reached for the small package, "Wow, I don't know what to say."

"Hmm, you can start off with a thank you, _that _would be nice."

"No duh," She held a smug look on her face, her digits drew small circles around the wrappings. "Seriously, thank you." Embracing him, she could feel his nerves stiffen. Shikamaru was never the touchy type of friend, in her dearest opinion, and it amused her so in moments like this.

Now that she pondered over the subject, how the _hell _couldn't she remember? A year ago, she would have made an entire list for the city of Konoha, now she could not even recall the day she was born. How strange.

"Thanks for the reminder." Pulling away she began to run in the opposite direction, waving her hand behind her, "I guess you lucked out!" She chuckled. Pumping the gift in the air, she yelled, "This better be nice!" In a joking manner before disappearing into the woods, leaving Shikamaru to himself.

He exhaled deeply, snapping his tongue. "What a weirdo." He declared, taking a seat onto the comforting pasture that called out to him. Settling upon the grass, he lifted his sight towards the warm atmosphere, observing the ruffled clouds in the sky. "Finally, time to daydream." His eyelids closing on him, he felt that a nap was in order.

As Ino walked the old back trails towards the Yamanaka house, she could feel herself grow slightly nervous. It has been a while since she last visited her parents home, around two months.

In all honesty, her parents would never approve of even partial events that she has endured. But then again, as the old saying goes, parents just do not understand.

88888888888

"Well honey, I thought you would never come!" Her mother kissed her cheek, smearing away the lipstick that stuck onto her daughter. Ino continued to nibble on her cake slice, slightly humored by the way her mother over reacted.

"Yeah, mom." She said plainly, turning to smile at her father.

"So what's that about living alone, is it as great as you thought it would be?" He had first hoped that she would grow desperate from her lack of domestic…_art_, for lack of a better word, and come home running. However, that was not the case. He was beginning to regret agreeing to let his daughter go off into the outskirts Konoha, no matter how close her house was to his.

"'Course it is."

"Where have you been? I've been calling all morning, I know you don't like waking up early but the phone was bound to wake you up." Ino paused, turning to glance at her mother. Her mother was quite intelligent when it came to snooping around.

"I was out with Shika--"

"Aw, isn't that cute! I just knew you two would realize--"

"…_Mother, _please…not this again…" She stabbed her fork through the piece of chocolate cake, sighing grimly. Although she knew sooner or later her mother would bring up Shikamaru, she was not quite prepared to start explaining herself, like always. For some reason, her parents were practically pushing her to get with her friend, (well more her mother than her father) and it always irked her when they did that.

"Well _what_ were you doing then?"

"Training with him." She smiled innocently, "What do you _think _I was doing?" Raising her eyebrows, she glanced at both her parents, smirking. A moment of silence wavered between the three of them, and Ino enjoyed every moment of it. She absolutely thrived in making her parents weary. Still, the moment did not last as long as her mother proceeded to speak.

"Ino…you wouldn't mind doing me a favor, would you?" Her daughter gave her a questioning glare. "Since you haven't been working at the flower shop anymore, I'm assuming you have a lot of time in your hands, right?"

"Well…I…" 'What is she, rubbing it in?' She thought, internally. Currently the status of unemployment was becoming a common word in her dictionary, until her rebound. She needed a comeback, and she needed it rather swiftly, the way words scampered through the components of Konoha, people most certainly were doubting her return to being a Konoichi.

"Okay then! You'd help your dear mother, right?"

"…What do you want me to do?"

"Just watch over Kurenai's baby, will you?"

"…Miss Yuhi has a baby! Since when!" Shocked, Ino slammed her hand onto the counter, leaning closer to her mother, who only chuckled at her daughter's behavior.

"You have yet to keep up with the times, she's been married for a year, remember?"

"…No…" Completely clueless yet interested all the same, Ino leaned closer.

"She married your old sensei, remember?"

"She did!" Completely shocked, Ino recalled moments where she would tease Asuma-sensei about Kurenai, but never thought their relationship would evolve. "Wow…really? I can't believe it."

"Your old sensei actually stopped by a few days ago and specifically asked for you." Inoichi interrupted, tapping his finger onto the counter. He jerked his leg, sprawling them both atop the chair aside him in a relaxing manner. "He seems to have a lot of confidence in you." He finished with a warm smile. "You wouldn't disappoint him, would you Ino?"

"You know what that means," Ino mumbled to herself.

"What?" He raised his tone, launching a stern glance in her direction.

"I mean…yeah, of course I would! Hehehe…" She reassured, chuckling to herself nervously. By the way her father stared at her, she knew she had but no choice.

--- --- ---

Naruto Uzumaki dragged his feet into the house, sluggishly closing the door behind him. He plucked at his clothes, observing the dirty splotches of blood and grit from the entire week. Sighing, he was happy to know that a shower was in order. A nicely extended searing bath, if he was lucky. He passed through the kitchen, taking himself to a screeching halt, a few items caught his eye.

There in the counter, practically basking in pure glory was half a chocolate cake, protected by the glass container. Completely malnourished, Naruto made a mad dash for the cake, tearing the lid off before he eagerly grabbed a handful of chocolate mesh, mashing it into his mouth. He hummed, absolutely loving the taste of chocolate in his mouth, something besides stale bread which he was growing disgusted with. Even the strongest of ANBU members could not endure the anguish that was Kakashi-sensei's stale bread, that is if his eccentric sensei had even enough _generosity _in his soul to offer his pupils bread. The brown crumbs smeared around his lips, he buried his face into the cake, forgetting the mess of cake bits on the counter as he finished as much junk that was in his mouth in one gulp.

Once the large portions were in fact gone, Naruto exhaled deeply, staring at the ceiling as he licked the edges of his mouth. "Yum!" He cried out, happily. It wasn't ramen but at least it was not Kakashi-sensei's week old bread. Finally composed with himself, he noticed a few small boxes of presents that were at the far end of the counter. Curious, his chocolate covered fingers picked the smallest one, bringing it close for observation. He examined the pattern of the wrapping, wondering if Ino was kind enough to leave him a gift.

When he did find a small tag attached to the gift, he pulled at it, leaving a few brown streaks. "…Happy…Birthday…Ino?" He licked the roof of his mouth getting at the final portions of cake. "Happy Birthday Ino?" Naruto scratched the inside of his ear. "Her birthday isn't until…" He twitched, suddenly remembering that a whole week had passed since he had last seen her. "Oh shit." He said to himself, running to the living room, searching for the calendar that was placed at the living room table. "Oh shit!" He cried out, instinctively grabbing onto his hair, pulling it. "I didn't get her anything, oh shit, she's been talking about this for weeks, oh shit, I promised to get her something, oh shit…" He continued ranting, dragging his hand down his face.

That was when he noticed his cake covered hands. "Oh shit." He repeated, realizing that he had just coated himself with chocolate. "I need a damn bath." He stated, finally, stomping his way into the bathroom, locking the door shut.

Now of course it would have been heroic to believe that the clothes he had taken off were in fact from an enemy. But that was not the case. Actually, the mission was pretty easy in his opinion, for a B ranked mission, all he, Sasuke, and Kakashi-sensei had to do was get rid of some criminal from the Water country. Getting rid of him was the easy part, listening to Sasuke, however, was not. And that was what resulted in the blood, Sasuke's blood to be specific. They've gotten in a little scuffle that Kakashi-sensei had to break up. But that was how it always was when the three of them ever went on missions. He was pretty sure Sasuke had a cup full of his own blood splattered on his precious clothes, too. Fair was fair, nonetheless.

"Ahhhh…." He breathed out, stepping into the shower, turning the warm knob all the way. Reaching for the shampoo, he pondered over the idea of how to get himself out of this predicament. After all pretending to go to sleep would only result in Ino hopping on him in the middle of the night and demanding her present. He _could_ admit that he did not manage to her anything; however, the very idea only implied that he was not interested on celebrating the day of her birth. Which would also entail, hypothetically speaking of course, that she did not cross his mind enough for him to care.

And that in itself, was a flat out lie.

"_So how did that whole phenomenal rendezvous go, dobe? You haven't talked about Sakura all week," _Sasuke's words echoed into his mind. As he permitted the water to trickle onto his body, he thought of how much he _didn't_ think of Sakura the whole time.

8888888888

"I better be getting a mission soon, I'm short on cash." Ino mumbled to herself, gripping the plastic bag full of groceries. She loved her parents and all, but visiting them oftentimes brought on that nasty guessing game of who she'll end up with. Why were they pushing for her to get with someone anyway? They should do the opposite, actually, in her dearest opinion. Fooling with the keys, she twirled them in her finger, stepping onto the stoop before her front door.

She closed her eyes, humming a small tune in her mind, reaching towards the lock. Unfavorably, it was too early to go to sleep, but she knew that she would quickly grow bored inside the house alone. Oh well, the way things looked, she'd be severely busy tomorrow caring for Asuma-sensei's baby anyway.

What she didn't know was the Naruto who was keeping an eye on the peephole, grinning mischievously as he unlocked all the security devices Ino setup. Damn, how much he hated doing that. Opening the door in a swift fashion, he watched the girl in front of him carry on with her humming, her key jabbing his abdomen.

As soon as she comprehend the soft surface her keys were setting upon, she shot her eyes open, gasping. "Naruto, what the hell are you doing here?" She cried out, in utter shock and content all the same.

"I came back, duh!" Before she could arrive at a response, he situated his index finger onto her lips. "Okay, don't say a word…I have a surprise for you."

"Oh boy…" She murmured, sarcastically.

"I told you not to talk!" Scolding, he returned back to a smile. "Okay this is what's going to happen, because I _said_ so, and don't you _dare _refuse…"

"…" She held a squirmed expression, "What are you talking about?"

"I'm taking you out, okay? So you can't say I'm cheap and what not." He pushed her in the direction of the house, "We're going out to get something to eat, so come back out when you're ready."

Ino squinted her eyes, trying her best to comprehend just exactly what he was preparing. A dinner? That sounded like a crappy way out of buying a present to her. "Fine, I'm ready." Slightly disappointed by his lack of actually getting her anything, she figured she might as well do something other than force herself to sleep.

"_No_, not like that. Go put on some nice clothes." He chuckled, shoving her into the apartment some more.

"Nice clothes? What I'm not wearing isn't good enough?" Offended, Ino tugged her shirt.

"What are you trying to say, hm?"

"Ino, please. Stop being so difficult. People say you're the prettiest girl in Konoha, I want to see it for myself." He shooed her off, closing the door for her. She held her finger, forming a reply but stopped when a few certain words sprung in her mind.

Naruto waited patiently, he was seated atop a few steps in front of the house. Twiddling his fingers, he wondered how long it was going to take Ino to step out of the house. By the way dusk had already turned into night, he believed she had taken somewhere near an hour to get ready. Honestly, why do women always take the longest time to get ready?

"Okay, I'm ready…" Ino spoke, causing Naruto to flinch.

"Don't do that--" He paused, his curious eyes taking a hold of the dress that hugged her curves so loosely. The little buzz about miss Ino Yamanaka being the most attractive girl in Konoha was true, but he didn't quite expect to be impressed so easily. For once, her hair was not in her usual pigtail, her long tresses reaching towards her hip. It brought out her femininity, by the way the subtle glow from the street lights shined down on her. She narrowed her eyes in his direction, still, even when aggravated she could not amend her striking appearance.

"What are you looking at, jeez?" Ino rolled her eyes, taking a few steps in front of him, finding that he did not budge from his step. She had not noticed it until now, but the clothes that Naruto wore were not exactly his usual attire. He had actually wore some sort of slick vest with a simple white shirt underneath, the cuffs of his sleeves were of course unbuttoned. She guessed that the dinner was sincerely going to be formal.

"This might sound slightly odd, but I'm going to blindfold you, alright?" He spoke from behind her, settling the cloth over her eyes, tying a knot in the back. She protested at first, but quickly went silent as she could no longer see what was in front of her.

"What's the point of doing that?"

"It's a surprise, oye, just go along with it, will you?" He slowly seized her hand, acknowledging that any sudden movements would probably have him ending up with a black eye of some sort. He crossed their fingers, bringing it towards his torso. "Alright, just stay close to me." Naruto then took a step forward, without much of a warning. Ino gasped, instinctively pulling herself closer to Naruto.

"What are you doing, idiot?" The response had him laughing a moment, before he continued to walk.

"Taking you to a nice place."

"…You're not going to dump me in the woods are you?" In a rather frightened tone, she whispered.

"…Maybe." He tipped to the side, murmuring into her earlobe. She trembled under his voice, finding it to be a complete distraction alongside her balance.

"Naruto!"

"No, I'm not, calm down." He shook his head, wondering just how insane their conversation must've been perceived in the eyes of bystanders.

Silence filled the atmosphere, the chirps of crickets were more than apparent. In the cool September evening, the moon brought about quite the luminosity. There came a ginger haze from the street lights, followed by the shady merges of dark trees. Naruto could feel Ino's fingers tighten under his grasp, as there came a fastening of pace for him. His face flushed as he gazed at the way she smiled in pure curiosity.

Although there were patches of people here and there, as they approached the central city of Konoha, he felt as if it were only the two of them. A warm surge of blood filled under his eyes, and he forced himself to concentrate upon the streets.

'What am I doing?' He asked himself, feeling a tinge of guilt pour into his chest. Naruto could not explain the significance of her smile, and how just being with Ino in general has become a need more than a wish.

"Hey, 'Ruto." She whispered, her voice whisking with the small gusts of winds.

"Yeah?" Slightly dumbfounded, he decided it was best to keep these thoughts to himself.

"…I know this is going to sound stupid, but did I do anything crazy that day I was sick?" She bit her lip, hoping it was nothing out of the ordinary. Taken aback by the abrupt question, Naruto lifted his head towards the sky, in an effort to evoke the memory.

"Sure you did, you challenged me to a duel."

"…No I didn't."

"'Course you did, you're a crazy drunk, I must admit."

"No I didn't!" Her neck rotated, her unoccupied hand reaching for a soft punch. "C'mon, really, did I start acting goofy?"

"I'm serious Ino, you got your kunai out and solemnly challenged me to a fight."

"…" Naruto witnessed the blush form on her cheeks.

In a sudden outburst, she cried out "I blame this on you, you and your nasty Sake!"

The slowly approaching echoes of music filled her ears, reverberating into her mind. The laughter of the public, the sounds of shoes clacking onto the concrete surface, the chit chats of the folks around her, she could touch the romance that filled the environment. She could feel a pang of excitement hit her.

"Hey…my Sake isn't nasty…" Naruto pouted, wondering how both Tsunade and Jiraiya would respond to that.

"Yeah right…who won anyway? In that fight, hm?" She leaned closer to him, a rather smug expression that was fixated on her like so.

He shivered, the memory of Ino's unanticipated kiss becoming rather clear in his mind. "T-that didn't really c-count as a fight, it was more of a one sided battle if a-anything." Stuttering through his answer, he hoped she couldn't see through that blindfold of hers, and see just how uneasy she was making him.

"So I won, didn't I?"

He sighed, his tongue glazing over his bottom lip, feeling his heart literally run through his ears. Turning towards the place of destination, he impulsively extended his arm to the flicker of vivid lights that flickered ahead of them. "There it is…we're here!" In a wicked way, he was actually relieved.

/TBC/

A/N: Dedicated to **Kagehusha**, Happy Birthday!


	9. Happy Birthday Ino: Part 2

Chapter 9:

"There it is…we're here!" Ino cringed, the sudden outburst left her startled. Yet, before any loose retorts could be shouted, her hung arm was jerked forwards.

She cried out by yet another surprise, finding warm hands press against her bare back, pushing her forwards. Feeling secured by Naruto's guidance, she allowed herself to be lead, where the heels of her shoes stepping upon a much harder surface, the echoes of her shoes muddled with the melody in the air.

"Don't panic," Was the last reassurance she received from him, blindfolded. Once he gently tugged the knot from her blonde locks, she felt the firm grip of the cloth undo, unraveling in front of her. Auburn luminosity filled the room, entirely filled with people. Her mouth hung open, she observed the bunches of people whom were seated in multiple chairs.

"Hah, too shocked to thank me? Didn't think I could provide a lady like yourself with a nice engagement, hmm?" He leered, walking a few steps ahead, deeper into the place.

"…I'm impressed," She blurted, following him towards a seat for two. As she sat herself onto the cushion, she folded her hands onto the glass table, seeing her reflection smile back at her. By the way he gestured at the people sitting on the next table, he seemed to have been quite familiar with this restaurant type…joint, as Ino liked to believe it was.

"'Course you are," He chuckled, in such a confidence that left her apprehensive. "I love this place!" He drummed his fingers against the fragile counter, leaning back against his chair, causing the two front legs to tilt forward. "They always play the best music." One thing was for sure, he was searching for something by the way his eyes scanned the across the empty floor adjacent to all the tables.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing!" He shifted his gaze back onto her, "Say…Ino…you wouldn't care to dance, eh?" He offered her his hand, across the table, sweeping his digits against the knuckles of her folded hands. She automatically pulled away, shaking her head, her locks swaying.

She had a wild look on her face, so much as to push her chair back, completely embarrassed. Rose red streaks were smudged under her glazed blue eyes, as she cried out, "Are you crazy!"

He pulled his hand back, appearing rather disappointed. "What? Aw c'mon, you know you want to dance, listen to the music, Ino, it's calling out to you," He wrinkled his nose, bewildered by her sudden timid behavior, but not all that surprised. When it came to the actual public, Ino was not quite the type of person to throw herself out to people, no matter how noisy she was known to be. Snapping his fingers, he pulled himself from the chair, instantly heading towards her side.

"Naruto, I don't think we can dance here!" She twisted her neck, side to side, frightened at the many groups of people whom had their eyes fixated on the two of them. Ino submerged herself, latching onto the metal chair handles for support as she sunk deeper in her chair. Her dress was caught in between the tangles and mess, rising up towards her knees. A squirm expression played upon her lips, and Naruto could only stand and watch the show that was Ino Yamanaka.

"Are you done?" Imagining a watch upon his wrist, he took a glance back and forth for a moment or two, his foot tapping.

"No one else is dancing!" She cried out in her loud whisper, one arm flaring to shoo him away. What she thought would be a splendid night was turning into some sort of nightmare for her. "We'll look like idiots,"

His hand then jammed into his pocket, the other extended in her direction. She paused, blue eyes lowering her gaze at his open palm. "Trust me, alright?" He spoke in a low husk, the baritone intonation drove a few quivers.

The jazz melody soon faded from the dance floor, following the taps of a tambourine, the notes of a piano clear in her thought. A few beats of a drum blended with the tune. Ino perked her head, a small smile forming, this had got to be about the craziest thing she's ever done.

That one statement alone eased her, her hand reached, clasping onto the offer. It was unimaginable, the way her heart raced at the thought of dancing in public, especially with Naruto. She could feel her knees grow weak as he lifted her from the chair, greeting her with his trademark grin. He bobbed his head with the tune, snapping his fingers in his ridiculous routine. Their hands linked, she shook her head at the imminent discomposure. He pulled her towards the middle of the empty floor, where she felt wandering eyes burn on her.

Completely unaware, or otherwise ignorant of the audience, Naruto took a hold of both of her hands, singing along with the words of the song, "Why do you build me up, _buttercup_ baby just to let me down…" He moved from side to side, bringing her palm towards his chest, utterly entranced by the sound of music, "and mess me around,  
and then worst of all you never call, baby, when you say you will, but I love you still,"

Eyes shut tight, she threw her head to the side, a few laughs came from her amusement. As uncomfortable as she first felt, it all disappeared by the way he exaggerated the words of the song, breaking her tension. And as she witnessed the people with a look of enjoyment in their warm gaze, she felt a silent acceptance.

"I need you more than anyone, darlin', you know that I have from the start" He turned her with a twist of his wrist, swiftly drawing her a few inches closer, his hand on the small of her back. He raised their folded hands, they swayed with the beat of the song, Ino attempting not to step on his fast moving feet. His mouthed the last verse of the chorus, concentrating on the way she beamed at him, "So build me up, Buttercup, don't break my heart." Naruto paused from his _singing_, if you will, and took two long strides to the left, two to the right, zigzagging through the floor. Ino could not help but chuckle at the idiocy they both represented, becoming an attraction. He spun her, leaning as he stated, "Still embarrassed?"

Ino rolled her eyes, though an open mouthed grin appeared as she grunted, "…No." She said plainly, sincerely, feeling as if it were only the two of them.

He literally whisked her away, she felt the meshed emotions of flutters, jitters, nerves. Ino witnessed the confidence in his lead, and found that quite attractive. He always flourished in opportunities such as this, where the world sought nothing but to judge, and one way or another he proved to progress unscathed. It amazed her how much he did not care for opinion.

Misplaced in reality, lost in his stare, Ino could no longer see a smile on his lips, but a fervent concentration on her. In fact, her feet have since refrained from shuffling to keep with his. He gave up on keeping in tune, soon stopping all together. His hand relaxed on her back, the texture of her dress delicate against his palm.

They were caught gaping at one another, equally anxious to move, speculating the line of friendship and whether they had thus far crossed it.

Ino felt her heart swell in her chest, the melody of the song once again blending into another. The era of the 60's continuing on without them. He leaned a few inches closer, attempting the unexpected, but the intimacy was quickly spoiled by the wave of applause that erupted from behind them. Ino lowered her gaze, staring at the wooden floor awkwardly, keeping away from Naruto.

What was it? The feeling that swirled in her abdomen, scaling to her bosom. Biting onto her lip, she acknowledged the flush on her face. A mesh of thoughts passed her,

_Do I like him as a friend? If I tell him, will it end? Will he look at me the same? Does he see it as a game?_

"Well, I'm famished!" Naruto cried out loudly, in his phony way. Turning into the direction of their table, hoping to keep his dim witted impulses undetected. He witnessed Ino return to her seat and stressed his sigh. He knew it was an awful idea to take her to a place like this, and if he did not control himself soon, she'd accuse him of something,

_Something_ he's unwilling to admit. Because he believed it was not true, primarily, he had hoped to have absolute adoration for Sakura Haruno.

The truth was, what was he willing to give…for this take?

As the menus were handed to them both, followed by a flattering remark on their dance moves, Ino kept her eyes fastened onto small print in front of her. At this rate, her hunger was deteriorating, she was more on the road to nausea. And as much as her eyes squinted in her rendition of being an oscar-nominated actress, her actions had appeared inept.

"Please don't tell me you're getting a salad," She unwillingly dropped the menu onto the table, narrowing her eyes, completely offended by that _comment _of his, wisecracker.

"What the HELL is that supposed to mean?"

"It means order something worth paying for." He lifted an eyebrow, maintaining his attention towards the list of foods, in a smug motion, he licked his index finger, flicking through a page, his eyes shifting onto her.

"And you say this because I'm a girl, right? So you automatically _assume _I'm only _willing_ to eat a salad because I care so much about my figure?" Although, vanity aside, she did mind what she consumed, once and a while, but by the way he was diverting this supposed conversation, he made her seem like those typical Konoha woman, Sakura's type, nonetheless. That was an insult on it's own. She cracked her fingers, over her head, a rather arrogant smirk plastered on her lips. "Okay then, I'll just have everything on the menu. I haven't had anything to eat all day, not to mention it's that time of the month and so…I'm damn hungry." She declared, handing him the menu, pleased by the way his jaw dangled from shock.

His stunned state soon altered, however, to disbelief, "Sure you will…even if I were to AFFORD all that crap on the menu, you would never eat it all--"

"How sure are you about that?"

"Very…" He placed both elbows onto the table, his chin resting upon his thumbs. "But, since I'm taking you out for this rendezvous, I'm picking what we're going to eat."

"Why?"

"Because!" Naruto stuck his tongue out, hoisting his hand in the air for a waiter. "And no matter how nasty the food is, you must eat it."

"…So what, you're going to pick the nastiest food you can find? That's beautiful, kid. Just the present." She chuckled, calming herself once the waiter arrived. Her glare darted to the blonde, unsure how far he would go in his bluff, or was it a bluff?

"I'll get me some this, and this," He pointed to menu, which was held erect, making it blind to Ino's eye. By the way the waiter seem to hum in approval, it happened to calm her down a bit.

"Hey, do you think you can actually afford it?"

"I'm not poor, Ino." He patted his pocket.

"You can't buy me _love_, Naruto."

"Sure I can't, love is _free_, Ino." Holding onto the words, she allowed for it to linger in the air, happening to overlook Naruto's tendency to fight for the last word.

"So why'd you take me here, Naruto?"

"Because I wanted to show you a good time, Ino."

"I thought love was free." She remarked, nonchalantly. Fooling with the pepper box, she tapped onto it with her finger, watching the bits of black plunge to the glass table, like black snowflakes.

"Sure it's free, food isn't."

"So why didn't you just show me love?" Awaiting a retort, she paused when he responded with silence. She tilted her head to see that he was dumbstruck, biting onto his lip like a five year old, desperate for words. It was not until a few seconds later that her words registered into her intellect. Automatically she flinched nervously, causing the pepper box to spill over, stuttering for words to launder the mess that she has verbally created.

A rush of scarlet stroked against his cheeks, across the bridge of his nose. He opened his mouth, as if he were to utter a response, but hastily locked his jaw shut. Ino could feel the burning embarrassment etch into her stomach, breaking her courage to stare at him. She brought her gaze towards the spilled raven snowflakes, a few blonde curls covering her uncomfortable expression.

"I didn't mean it the way…please don't interpret it that way, I'm really happy you brought me here," When it came to awkwardness, she always spilled every single form of thought out onto the table, for all to witness. It was not a very good spectator sport, especially in situations like this. "Man I'm making a fool out of myself,"

Naruto bowed his head, his tone of voice lowering into a pure murmur, "Ino if you don't think I--" He interrupted himself, taking a gulp of the saliva that managed to accumulate. Extending his arm, he impulsively felt the need to wipe away the aura of uncertainty in her tone, but before he grab onto her balled fists of frustration, a gloved hand abruptly swept in front of his eyes. The space in between them was interrupted by two plates filled with some sort of cuisine.

He darted his fleeting look to Ino, who shifted uncomfortably in her seat, her cheeks carried etched lines of rouge. As passed her an apologetic smile, he could not avoid the way his mouth watered by the mere aroma of delicious salty food that he literally lusted for.

"…" Ino promptly rolled her eyes, reaching for a fork, a small giggle escaping her. "So what's this…fantastic stuff?" Eyebrows arched, she picked at what she could not describe. In front of her was a touch of a meal her father would conjure in his latest attempts of being a chef. Fortunately, it did not pertain to the burnt over smell. "God, you look like you're going to stuff yourself…" Lifting her view, she watched Naruto bring the plate to his mouth, shoving half of the fried rice into his mouth. "SWALLOW IDIOT!" She cried out, kicking him with her heel, watching his expression of sweet ecstasy cut short.

"Y-ow!" He howled, biting onto his lip. "What? I'm STARVING! This is REAL food." Even if he did explain his way of nutrition from the past week, he knew she wouldn't approve anyway.

"Who cares? Eat like a REAL person!" She barked, taking a small scoop of…whatever it was she had reluctantly towards her lips. Pausing, she asked, "What is this anyway?"

"Eat it…Delicious…" Were the only conceivable words that she managed to heed. What she saw was Naruto continue to eat like a starved child, finishing the last few spoons of his plate. Honestly, it was comical watching the way he drove the poor food into his mouth, his cheeks bulging with food.

"…Decent." She commented, finding the food rather tasty in truth. Sweet and sour all in one, something she was needing for a while. When she dug her spoon for another portion, she caught a glimpse of desire from across the table "…You're not full yet?"

"Are you kidding?"

"…You're an idiot--"

"A starving one, my friend."

"Oh what a pity," She frowned, nipping into the spoon, "because this stuff…" chewing softly, she lingered toward the frown that plastered his face, "delicious, man…"

"Can I have some, then?"

"Huh? Heck no I love this!" Ino chuckled, another portion of rice hitting her tongue. Again and again. Driving him crazy. Hunger splashed his visage, even a few of drool slicked his bottom lip.

He ogled her seconds more, her spoon never leaving his sight. Feeling amused and abusive all the same, she suddenly gave in on the puppy dog stare from across the counter. "Fine,"

Without warning, his hands held onto the ends of the plate, "Really?" He jerked, but the food remained unadjusted. "Hey…I thought you were gonna give me some." The anticipation heavy in his tone, he pouted.

"Sure I will, I'll feed it to you, of course."

"Oh." Naruto grinned, daringly, unhesitant to take a seat beside her, "I see, you think I'm going to be embarrassed like you were--"

"Not really!" Aggravated, she regretted ever offering him anything. "So I can't be mister social butterfly, jeez--"

"Whatever happened to that?" Looking past the loud, blatant emotion that spilled from her, he could not disregard what she also was unintentionally revealing either. "That social butterfly persona of yours? When we were younger, you were miss popular."

"I don't quite care about that anymore!" She shouted, enraged, eyes squinted. She roughly slapped her hands onto the edge of his chair in front of her. Rather than thrust as much energy into shoving him away, she felt the nausea return for a second round. He placed his hands atop of hers, grazing it with his fingertips.

"I care about you, Ino."

"Sure you do," She blurted, surprised with the insensitive response herself.

He laughed quietly, tilting himself closer to her, hands never leaving her sight. "What do I have to kiss you to prove it to you?"

Kiss.

Suddenly that sounded familiar.

The husk of his voice.

The linger in his eyes.

It all felt familiar.

She felt this way before.

And it hit her. Seeped into her like acid.

The taste of sake, he tasted like sake. She could feel the tingles in her tongue when she…kissed him. _Kissed _him. When she was drunk, nonetheless. The intense flutters than ran down her abdomen when she did it. The flurry of confusion, of her sentiment running high, magnetized by the alcohol, by drowsiness. By the way she lusted after just kissing him, only kissing him. And he let her. Simply allowed it. And now that she recalled the moment of what she did, all for the expression of sorrow she felt when she cut him…

A heavy blush rose under her eyes. She could feel the undetectable fractures cracking under her feet, her heart plummeting into her stomach.

But that couldn't have had happened, could it? Honestly, it was simply out of the question.

"Ino." Naruto observed her many expressions, witnessing her convert from the laughter in her eyes to the unreserved realization. Some sort of mathematical equation scrapped and scribbled in her mind, by the way the blue orbs skimmed. Her mouth formed words he could not comprehend, in her silent chatter.

As if he had broken the spell that sealed her speech, she flinched, taking a glance to the left and right, a touch of rouge was draped over her cheeks. Even for a woman, she had a million and one emotions he wished he could comprehend.

Temptation insisted on dwelling on his thoughts, but famine was ripping his stomach apart at the time. Manners were not his forte, and any minute now he was going to wolf the mess of food on her plate, whether she permitted him to or not. "So about that food…"

"Are you that desperate?" Unbelievable, she thought, his patience was quite as _impressive _as cheap cologne. She latched onto the spoon, pulling out in front of him, dangling it. "Open your mouth," She sighed, her palm under the spoon as she blew at the hot fumes.

He blinked, mouth agape, pointing towards the metal, "I thought you were kidd-" the item of question was shoved into his mouth, savored by his taste buds. And oh boy did he need that.

"Eat." She commanded, pulling away the food, dipping her spoon for another portion. Reverting her gaze back to Naruto, she was surprised to find him absolutely still, to the point where his lower lip parted from where the spoon once was. The way he appeared, pouting, in his blank stare…was utterly gorgeous in the. His goofy off the wall way. By some means, whatever was driving him at the moment, he was patient.

"I don't mean to interrupt," A waitress extended her arm over the two head, placing the bill ticket onto the table. She pressed the restaurant's menu against her chest, her russet bangs covering a portion of her right eye. By the name displayed on her clip, Mitsumi had a nice young smile attached to her, in the girlish way only a teenager can pull off. "You two are such a cute couple," Mitsumi commented, her gaze darting to Ino who avoided it, turning away, face reddening. "Anyway, this is a compliment from us, we all loved watching you dance." She squealed, placing a dark glassed bottle on the table, two wine glasses included. The waitress has one last curtsy, nodding an approval in Naruto's direction before giggling her way back to the kitchen.

"Didja here? She said we we're a cute couple." Naruto grinned, reaching for the wine, eager to pop it open in between his teeth, spitting the cork aside. "Maybe she's right." He seized the glass in a delicate fist, pouring the glass to the top, taking a full swing. "It's even better when it's free," He mused, licking his lips.

"Alcohol doesn't appeal to me."

"Sure it doesn't." Snickering, he poured a half glassed serving of wine nonetheless.

"I'm not drinking that."

"Aw c'mon Ino, live a little. It's your birthday."

"It's bad for you."

"So is fast food but we all eat it anyway ." He presented her the glass, content to witness her take his offer.

Ino's face squirmed, the aroma of thick alcohol filling her senses. A little bit of fear, a little bit of curiosity, she took one glance at Naruto, he nudged his glass towards her, a soundless toast. She grinned boldly, a second before swallowing the glass, feeling the splash of grape and alcohol sting her throat, rolling into her abdomen. It tickled all the way down.

8888888

They leisurely strolled along the grass trails. Naruto turned, staring intently at her, he watched her attempt to disregard the September gusts of winds. Although it was a long process, he felt the night was ending rather hurriedly. He felt the need to hold onto the night, before the world would completely spin before him.

"Thank you," She fought the silence that grasped her surroundings, pausing to await his reaction. "For everything, for the food, the dancing, the fun. I had quite a time." Ino lifted her chin, seeing the taller figure step closer to her.

"You mean that?" Ino witnessed his face light up, feeling the pace of her heart prance within her bosom. They continued to take an unhurried saunter back to the house. Each keeping their sight away from the road ahead.

Sure it was awkward, the way the crickets chirped in their orchestra, along the blades of grass that surrounded them both. The streets were vacant save for the street lights that provided an auburn mist. Yet for once, Ino could deal with this unwieldy disposition. "So what compelled you to wear that get-up?"

"You must be thinking it's unusual because it isn't orange, right?" He noted.

"I've never seen you dress formal, I guess." Naruto chuckled, pulling off the livid vest, dangling from his index finger.

"I know it's not much, but I can't watch you shiver like that." He handed her the garment, she took it without much of a protest. The small talk soon died for a moment, all that echoed was Ino's click clacking of her high heels, abrasion against the concrete trails.

"Thank you," A whisper too imperceptible to catch.

As their faithful apartment complex grew closer, Naruto could feel the tension grind between them. He could not accurately depict the disappointment that scurried through his senses, fogging his rationale. What was it exactly that he wanted? It was indescribable.

Ino twiddled with her fingers, keeping her gaze away from him for the moment. His vest draped on her, a few sizes too big, the scent of Naruto filling her lungs. All too recognizable, in fact.

Unfortunately, they did amble their way towards the porch of the house, somehow. Ino rubbed her hands together, heating her icy fingers as she sadly waited for Naruto to pull his key out. It took a few seconds to figure that staying outside was his full intention, as he maintained his position. She was too afraid to look at him, but of what she could not admit. Ino then proceeded to shove the key on the lock herself, out of pure frustration. Cool winds blew a few strands of hair away from her features. She tried to latch her hands onto the doorknob, but before she could pull the door open in it's entirety a hand shoved the it away from her reach.

"Wait, not yet…" Naruto lowered his tone, taking a few steps forward, inches away from Ino. He made a grab for her hands, forcing cold quivers along his spine. His blonde bangs covered the anxiety in his eyes, as he pulled her closer to him. "I just, I," He was at a lost of words, his wits stuttered, feeling quite woozy himself. "I didn't give you a proper present," Breathless, his heart hammered against his chest, building up the nerves that accumulated within him.

Ino held her mouth slightly agape, shocked by just how intimate they were. Once again, another attempt at controlling her blood pressure passed on instantly, her limps began to tremble under his touch. He willingly slipped his arms under her torso, another tug brought the scent of her perfume closer. Noses practically skimming, he leaned his forehead beside hers, the resonance of his breathing pace reverberating into her ear.

Lightheaded, of course, she mumbled, "What?" her arms pushed into his, hands gripping onto his shoulders for support. Beautiful blue eyes searched for the meaning behind the figure in front of her, she could feel her chest swell with sentiment. A little bit of fear, a little bit of joy.

"Can I ask you something?" He whispered hoarsely, she shuddered from his voice. The melody of crickets and owls were no longer present at this point. Impatience managed to overwhelm him, as he could not wait for her answer. "Can I kiss you?" His mouthful of air whisked atop of her lips, his quick breaths warming her features. The request, soft and naïve, lingered through September weather.

Half dazed, eyes half lidded by his alluding spell, "Y-yes," She stuttered, holding onto her breath. He captured her lips in an innocent kiss. Ino was startled at first, moved by his gentle, wine ridden taste. Perhaps, she could not consider this as reality. It took seconds more for her mouth to move gently against his.

He slipped his hands onto her cheeks, his thumb stroking the line of her jaw, completely infatuated. They remained that way, finding warmth in one another, the chills and flutters became a rush, until Ino became the first to break their link.

She panted for air, eyes widened like saucers. She could not comprehend what had just occurred, no matter how the burning of alcohol etched her mouth. Cerulean glossed orbs blinked, turning away from Naruto, as she clutched the front of his vest, scrunching silk material.

Incredible was not enough to describe what had just happened.

"What are you so afraid of?" He murmured, gently, tugging her hand.

"…Not afraid," She replied, before she could think of a way to avoid his remark, she found herself pulled into a tight embrace, almost to the point where her feet lifted from the ground.

"I'd never let anything happen to you," The solid declaration was whispered into her ear, he felt assured limbs surround him, squeezing his neck. He smiled warmly, lowering his gaze to meet her blue eyes, "Don't you know, you're the most beautifulwoman I know." Eyes closed, accepting the waver of affection whirling in him at the moment. "Even when you get on my last nerve," Naruto admitted, concentrating on the smile that lit her features.

And for once, he did not feel cheated. It was not one-sided. He could touch the love in her eyes, and it's entirety.

"Shut up." She nuzzled her face into his chest. "You mean when you get on MY last nerve," He was able to hear her mumbles, "…Don't change 'Ruto,"

"Sure," He kissed the top of her head, simply content with being able to be himself with the girl in his arms. "Happy Birthday, Ino."

Because that was it, that was love.

----------

A/N: Sorry that took me quite a while to write. I really wanted to capture genuine affection, I hope I succeeded. This was hard to write, but thank you all for the support, my goodness I love writing this story more than anything!


	10. I'll Avoid It For Now

Chapter 10:

"Why the hell are you so enthusiastic today?" Shikamaru grunted, ducking to keep from getting pierced by her kunai. Watching her parade about with a smile on her face, although was some sort of habit, was never such when it came to her training. Today, even when they practiced with swimming, she had a jolly aura about her that was beginning to irk him. Being so cheerful in the morning, for hours on end, and never clearly explaining why, was rather bothersome.

"What's so wrong about that?"

"Nothing." He sighed, with a roll of his eyes. He glimpsed at his watch, startled to see just how quickly time has progressed for the two of them. They've been at it for about three hours,

"Say Shika, what time is it?" She asked curiously.

"Two minutes to eight, but this damn watch is always behind a few minutes, so I never know." He admitted, tapping his fairly unreliable source of device. Shikamaru turned to meet Ino, who appeared to be rather worried. She then had her back turned to him, reaching for her jacket sprawled on the grassland. "Why?"

"Shit, I forgot! I can't believe I completely forgot!"

"Forgot what?"

"Damn, I have to take care of Asuma-sensei's baby today, and I was supposed to be at my mom's at eight."

"Your mother is crazy for thinking you'd be on time."

"Shut up." She shot him a threatening look, quickening her pace towards the trails, the easiest way home. "Maybe you underestimate me, once again."

"Sure!" He called out, cupping his hands, grinning. "And maybe you _are_ amazing!" He joked, collapsing onto the meadow. A few chuckles escaped the now content Shikamaru, as he observed Ino retreat from the area.

He wondered if she would actually make it on time.

Ino panted, trying her best to catch up with her breathing. The cool climate forced a sore throat as she proceeded to pass by the morning bystanders of Konoha. A few familiar faces cocked an interested eyebrow at watching miss Yamanaka pass by them with a wave. "Hello-Goodbye," She blurted, a blond rush scurried past them, trying to keep herself from tripping over traces of autumn leaves.

She was not typically this friendly towards others, but she felt the need to greet everyone.

When the outline of her parent's doorframe was drawing near, she could feel her unease build up alongside the chilly pressure. Her icy fingers clasped the doorknob, shoving it with all the force she could upsurge. "I'M HERE!" She gasped, her knees collapsing against the carpet. The warmth of the house overwhelming her, blood rushing.

Ino blinked, witnessing her mother observe her in a dense manner. She perked her head forwards, placing both hands onto the ground, mouth agape to accept any and all forms of oxygen.

"Why…morning honey!" Sapphire eyes crinkled in happiness, clutching a undersized blanket in her arms. "I didn't think you would come now--"

"YOU SAID….EIGHT O' CLOCK OR ELSE!" She cried out in between breaths, shooting an angry look at her mother, who continued to smile half heartedly in her direction. "Where's Asuma-sensei!"

"Relax, and they've already left on their mission. Actually, I'm surprised you didn't catch them." She shrugged, placing the bundle into a sack. "It's shocking how early you came, Ino, you night stalker." Ino flinched at her mother's ability to distinguish her change of habits. "In fact, you've been doing this occasionally."

"Yeah well, you said eight!"

"Alright, I said eight, and you're here." Ino felt her mother rest her fingers onto her chin, kissing her daughter's cheek affectionately, the way only a mother could. "Let's just hope you'll be this reliable as you get older."

Ino snorted, a grin illuminating her features, she bowed her head.

"You look like you have a story to tell."

"Well I'm working at it." She then beamed at her mother, ending her statement with a sly grin. Perhaps it was a woman thing, a practice between a mother and daughter, but Ino's mother acknowledged the moment of silence, and knew that when her daughter was ready, she was prepared to listen.

"I'm glad you came, I have to go open the shop. Here's the baby's bag," The elder Yamanaka dropped the heavy load onto Ino's lap, the weight causing her to drop onto the rugged floor.

"This THING is heavy!"

Statement ignored, Ino looked up to see her mother disappear into another room. She took another glance at the baggage dropped upon her. It was meant more for an adult's belonging than a child's, in her dearest opinion. Because the zipper was not fastened entirely, baby lotions and shampoos stuck out. "Ma, how long am I going to have the baby?" Her eyebrow tilted upwards, by the look of it, it was going to be a while.

"Hmm…" She retreated, this time with a stroller, "You'll see." She stopped a few inches away from Ino. An infant poked from the collection of blankets wrapped around her, looking rather peaceful in her sleeping state. The appearance of the baby had Ino smiling, slightly excited. "Here you go," She pulled her daughter up, placing her palms onto the handle bars, "Now, you take care of her, okay Ino? I'm always here when you need me," She shooed her towards the door, watching as her daughter pushed the stroll outside the door. "Alright, I love you, buh-bye!" She called out, humored by the clueless look on Ino's face. The door completely shut, she turned towards her home. "She'll do fine."

----

Ino sat herself onto the edge of the bed, extending her arm towards the sleeping Naruto. She observed the way his chest rose ascended, grinning at the tired expression plastered on his face. He clutched at the pillow she placed as her replacement, snuggling into the soft fibers. "Idiot, wake up." She whispered, brushing her fingers against his cornflower locks. He stirred to an extent, but did not awake.

"Ino, not now…" He mumbled, grabbing a greater hold of the pillow. She smiled affectionately at him. "Can't you shut up?"

"SHUT UP!" She cried out, raising her hand in the air.

"Yeah, shut up!" He opened his eye, smirking. "Damn broad--"

"OH yeah!" Her screams echoing into his ear, rousing his conscious, "Well! Now you're going to have to deal with two broads!" She leaned back exposing a stroller, smirking.

"Huh?" He pulled himself up, his eyes widening into saucers. "What's that?" He pointed at the carriage turned away from him. Curiosity entailed on his expression, his mouth was held agape.

"A baby, genius."

"A baby, really?" A smile lit his features. He rubbed at his droopy eyes, attempting to comprehend her words. "Wow…" Naruto pulled the covers off of him, leaping from the bed, but before he could take a step closer, Ino hung on to the hem of his shirt, causing him to fall over from his impending charge. He crashed onto the floor, his legs becoming tangled in unnecessary blankets. "Hey!"

"Listen to me," She bend over, her blond hairs hanging from her head as she viewed him from an opposite point of view, "she's a baby, Naruto,"

"I know." He nodded, his mischievous tone arising. He wiggled his fingers, crawling over to the baby stroller. "Gosh," He whispered, seating himself in front of the navy blue carriage, pushing it towards him a few more inches, "She's so peaceful looking." His fingers gently rubbed against the sleeping infant's cheeks.

"Babies do that, you know." She made her way towards him, also seating herself on the carpet floor. "I think Asuma-sensei's crazy for letting me take care of his only kid."

He shifted his gaze onto Ino, eyeing the blank stare he received. "I don't think so,"

"…" She averted her attention towards the child enmeshed in fuzzy blankets. The child had a heedful of lovely raven fuzz, thanks to her kin. Ino could understand the potential the little one attained by having two Jonin as parents. The baby slept serenely, it was almost impossible to imagine how lively they could get.

"We have a baby now." He commented, his tone dropping into a near murmur. There came a waver of silence between the two of them as they both turned to stare at one another. His words were said in a manner of truth, and while she contemplated over his statement, she giggled a bit.

"I'm sorta scared."

"You're always scared."

"Life is scary." She declared. Ino regretted letting her words become incised into the atmosphere.

"I know." He placed his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. She felt his body heat warm her side, feeling a bit comfortable. As if he had conjured a solution he turned rotated his head in a swift fashion, sending her an assuring glance. He kissed her forehead, "Okay?" He pulled away, enjoying how easy it was to make her flush.

Come what may, she accepted his form of soothing, burrowing herself onto the plain white t-shirt of his. "So, what's her name?"

"…" Her face squirmed as she bit her lip, "Shoot, I forgot to ask--"

Naruto chuckled, "No really--"

"I'm not joking, damnit!" She dragged her hand across her face, suddenly feeling hot. "Ugh, how could I forget the obvious--"

"Don't stress, relax." He rubbed his hands together, a bit of his tongue sticking from the side of his mouth. He appeared to be in the middle of a complicated mode of thought. He tapped the temple at one side, humming an inconceivable tune.

"I could call my mom--"

"Satomi!"

"What?"

"Satomi, aw, that's a cute name! Her name is Satomi!"

"Are you JOKING?" She yanked his collar, bringing him downward onto eye-level. Teeth barred, she narrowed her eyes, completely enraged by his dim-witted suggestion. "Do you seriously want to make up a name for HER?"

"I think it's a nice name." He spoke carelessly, over the course of the past few months he had become acquainted with her imitation of a mad woman, and by no means took her seriously.

"What if she got used to that name! Kurenai and Asuma would get _so_ pissed!"

"Oh please…they'd never find out." He shrugged, turning towards the infant in questioning. "Unless they already call her Satomi," He rolled his eyes in a mocking manner, "Besides, what are you going to call her, Baby? Wouldn't that be just as bad? In any case Satomi is far better than Baby,"

"You're an idiot, Naruto." He figured that was her manner of accepting his suggestion.

"Yeah…Satomi Uzumaki has a nice ring to it--"

"NARUTO!"

"Whhaaaaaaaat?" He pouted, dragging his word. His shoulders slumped, as he skimmed his fingers through his locks. "It's only a joke."

"It's not a joke," She stood up, brushing off the dust on her pants. "That sounded so authentic. I just hope you don't get too attached, remember Naruto she's Kurenai's and Asuma's child."

"Sure, sure.." He held a smug expression, eyes rolling.

----

Ino relaxed against the trickles of water that trailed down her form, watching the molecule filter down towards the trail. As she turned the knob towards the right, she heaved a sigh, pleased to finally have a moment of relaxation. Her leg reached out of the shower glass, but before she stepped one foot onto the cold tiles, a baby's cry caused her to jolt from where she was, nearly tipping over. She too cried out in surprise, quickly grabbing hold of the towel, her initial thought, while wild and extreme on its own consisted of some of course dim witted move from the future Hokage. Without much of an effort of tying the towel against her bosom, covering a part of her body as she pushed the door away, wet feet stepping onto the hallway. "NARUTO WHAT ARE YOU DOING? I told you not to walk her up!"

And she woke up, 'course she did. She was bound to wake up by the rattling Naruto was doing, because the guy could no longer contain himself. Going against Ino's regulations, he poked at the infants tummy, keeping himself in Ino's room for a few minutes more. Okay, so he made a cheap move, he lingered on leisurely until Ino left to the bathroom, but it was worth it, he believed.

"Dumb, fucking…idiot…" She mumbled incoherency, shoving the door in front of her open, hearing the angry door crash onto the wall with a thud creaking back in her direction before she marched into the room, in a towel-clas fashion. Her finger raised, a nice slap was in order, but once she approached him, she saw the baby in his arms, clumped in an inexperienced way. He struggled to hold onto the little one, making a nervous squirm for Satomi, as he so willingly named her.

Ino tried not to smile, but it was difficult to ignore the complicated way he was trying to hold the baby, who only blinked at her new caretakers. "Like this, Naruto, look." She held onto his arm, pulling it so that he held Satomi's back adjusting her against his chest. A sigh of relief left him, he peered down at the infant, and Ino too could not restrain from admiring the little one.

"God, her eyes are beautiful." Ino whispered, seeing the clear crisp crimson tint gloss Satomi's eyes. "She definitely got that from Kurenai."

"Yeah, Satomi's really pretty, aint she? Aren't you?" He turned, his nose pressing against the soft cheek of the baby. She only stared, wide-eyed, curiosity to it's fullest extent, intrigued by the interest in the sapphire eyes.

"She's sort of quiet," Ino stated, taking a hold of the smooth tiny fingers in her palm. "Look, hi, little--" She shot Naruto a knowing glance, "…Satomi," She said in defeat, her voice returning to baby talk, "you're so cute with your big cherry colored eyes, your mommy and daddy are sure stupid for letting Naruto and I take care of precious little you…"

"Hey…" Naruto spoke defensibly, pulling Satomi away, "We're good parents, I think."

Perhaps, having the child around was not going to be the best idea around. By the way he narrowed his glare, Ino could evidently pinpoint his unexpected attachment to the child. And what she thought would be a day full of protest of caring for Satomi she believed was going to be the complete opposite at this rate.

"If you say so." Ino spoke, unconvinced, leaving the room. At the very least, she was not going to be the only one dealing with her, even if they both did not quite know what to do.

And there passed their day, both situating their attention towards Kurunai's and Asuma's kin,

"Look at her, she can stand up."

"Aw, she's smiling Ino!"

"Satomi lookey here…"

"She's so cute!"

"Naruto, that pacifier is not for you."

Admiring her so.

"So what do you think, you can't function or something?" He spoke in a murmur, behind Satomi's back, eyes lingering to pull at the carpet strings they all laid upon. His words were in such a casual manner, taking Ino a while to register his exact intentions.

"Function?"

"Do you believe in yourself?"

"What are you talking about?" Her effort to remain calm wore thin, her tone rose with each passing word. In an attempt to keep herself occupied, she rattled the toy was fixated between her digits, enjoying its deafening effect. She kept her gaze towards Kurenai's child, who continued to bite onto the teddy bear that was given to her. Luckily, Satomi became the wall of evasion. "Of course I do."

"Why do you always doubt yourself?"

"I do _not_ doubt myself."

"You never think you can do anything, actually. I bet that's why you're afraid to be a Kunoichi, again. You don't think you can do it--"

"What the HELL are you talking about?"

"You're always so insecure about yourself."

"Are you serious?" She jerked her arm, no longer interested in the plaything she was holding. Biting onto her lip, the absolute fury that was building into her was held in restraint, the only face it did receive was the wringing of the fists. She shifted her eyes back onto Satomi, wiggling the infant's arm. "Boy, that Naruto, he's _sure_ crazy. He doesn't even know what he's talking about, right Satomi?" Small crimson eyes were too engaged in the texture of the teddy to return any sort of acknowledge.

Naruto softly clasped his hand onto Ino's, "And you don't really trust me either, because of it." The cerulean tint in her eyes glazed over, Ino squirmed her face, turning away from him.

"So what, do you trust me full heartedly?" She spoke sarcastically.

"I don't have to think twice."

"And what, _what_ are you suppose to say? That you believe in me?" She turned to stare at him, eyes squinting,

"'Course I do, without a doubt."

Her eyes widened, not expecting such a rapid reply. For the next few seconds, silence thickened the atmosphere, save for the coos and chuckles of a naïve adolescent now grabbing for the abandoned rattle.

Naruto pulled himself up, dragging himself across the carpet floor, passing the baby. He became the first to grab a hold of Ino's limb, pulling her towards him, not caring whether she fought against him. She felt herself become pressed onto his torso, the beats of his heart becoming a melody to her. "Hey, I don't know if I've mentioned this before," He cradled her frame, fighting against the flutters that danced amidst his abdomen, "but I'm sorta crazy about you."

Ino chuckled, somewhere between laughter and tears. Her eyes watered, feeling foolish and at ease all the same. "Sorta, huh?"

"No, actually completely." He kissed her, in an abrupt fashion, warm lips brushing over her mouth. Something dangerously longing in him. His arm tucked behind her middle section, to balance her from behind, before her head would thump against the surface. Ino felt herself relax, smitten with the way he affectionately kissed her, eyes closed. She found her arm looping around his neck, pulling him closer as she returned his gesture.

Her nerves shuddered from inside her as she felt his weight pressed onto her. There came a struggle, as the two attempted to lean onto the rim of the couch, all in a blind approach. Ino tugged at a fist full of golden hairs, feeling the smooth fluffs entangled between her digits. Naruto pulled away from her kiss swollen lips, still sensing the anxiety purge

"I love you." Ino blurted out. Sightless from the whirl of unexplainable emotions that jittered inside, she was surprised just how effortless it was to admit those three simple words. Blue eyes were half lidded, chin up to take a glance at the male figure in front of her. He seemed dazed for a moment, his shoulders slumped. There was maturity in his gaze as he pushed forward for one last kiss on her cheek. "Idiot." She mumbled, both breaking out into a few laughs to fill in the awkward silence.

"Ino, honey, idiot does _not _mean sweetheart."

---­­­­­­­­­­­­

He tried to pull onto the figure in front of him, as he always did. He had a thing for waking her up in the middle of the night, so he could bother her, even for a minute. By the way Ino would always fidget and groan, he knew she'd give him a good kick and shove. Which was why, when he reached for her torso, all he could grasp was a pillow in front of him.

Now fully conscious, he rubbed at his eyes, pulling at the sheets to find nothing but a few pillows awaiting him. Naruto sighed, squinting his eyes to catch a clearer vision. He was surprised to see Ino embracing the small child in her arms, her back pressed against the wall. A tired expression graced her features, as she focused on the soft snored of the baby, a weak smile laced upon her lips.

"You look a little tired,"

"Yeah well she wouldn't stop crying," Ino continued to soothe the infant, her fingers tracing along her black hairs. "Satomi, right?" A sarcastic, weary chuckle left her.

"I didn't hear her cry." Naruto cocked an eyebrow, scratching lazily at the back of his head. "Are you sure?--"

"Sure I'm sure, why do you think I woke up?" She defended, bringing the bundles of blankets closer to her bosom.

"Okay." He observed the way Ino swayed with Kurenai's child, and understood the lie pretty well.


	11. What is this, exactly?

A/N: Yo! Thanks for the heads up for my mistakes! Thank you for liking it, for reading it, for actually just taking your time out of the day to read it. Man…someone said they missed studying their test to read this and I almost wanted to cry, that was the nicest thing someone ever said to me. It makes me feel so good to be a writer. I'm just glad people like reading this, because I sure do love writing it!

I apologize for how long it took, I had to finish a term paper due tomorrow, lol. As always, any sort of comment is always welcomed. Thanks!

Oh yeah…here is something special for you all…for all those people who requested other characters to come along cough yeah!!!

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Chapter 11:

The first thing he wanted to say was '_Naruto, you sly dog,_' but perhaps that was a little too much, especially since the boy was asleep. But he had to admit, damn, that boy actually had him feeling proud to raise him…sort of.

So as Jiraiya continued to observe the way Naruto clung onto the sleeping girl in his arms, he could not help but feel the urge to cry out in pompous manner; which in fact he eventually actually did.

He clenched his fists, struggling to keep quiet, he felt his teeth grind.

Of course, he had to visit the kid. It's been a few months, as usual, and his little tryst of women research was actually on hiatus, to be frank. He thought, since he was already in Konoha he might as well see that brat the Fourth left him. After all, he was a bit concerned over him.

Honestly, all Naruto would do is pout over some girl named Sakura, Tsunade's apprentice. Well, from what he can see, he sure got over _that_…

And so, this fairly explained his pure enthusiasm for the boy. "…YO! I'd never thought I'd see the day, hah!" He stepped into the bedroom, a happy grin heightening his pleased attitude.

Naruto grunted, lifting his hand to flick at the bug that he believed was becoming quite a nuisance. His eyes remained shut, as he nuzzled himself into the end collar of Ino's nightshirt.

"It's too late for that, kid, wake up!" Jiraiya shook the boy's shoulder, disinterested with the idea of sleep.

"Wha…?" Sapphire eyes made an effort to peer at the person behind him, when he finally took notice of the infamous white hairs that made up of the one and only, "…Ero-sennin?" He sighed, doubting that it was in fact the Toad Hermit was practically leering over him. It took a few seconds for the certainty to click inside his intellect, as he recoiled at the idea of Jiraiya finally finding him. He sat up in a sad effort to keep from stirring Ino awake.

"Ero-sennin--"

"Don't call me that, boy!"

"…Shh…" He placed his fingers atop his mouth, a worried expression now plastered. Really, he had hoped that this guy wouldn't have had to pop up for at least a few weeks more. "Please, Ero, she's sleeping." He frowned, yet Jiraiya remained unimpressed by Naruto's plea.

"Whose that, hm?" He placed his foot on the edge of the bed, leaning his elbow on his knee, facing Naruto arrogantly. "A friend?"

"…What the hell are you doing here?!"

"I've never seen her before, she's actually cute, Naruto. How'd you manage--"

"Get out of here!"

"Huh? Hey, where's that Sakura who you always obsessed with?" He chuckled before adding, "Eh, she wasn't any good for you anyway."

Rose red etched onto Naruto's cheek, he lowered his gaze, "About that…" Confession sounded like a good idea right about now, "…I still…" He frowned, feeling the guilt linger in his empty stomach, but his explanation came to halt when he caught Ino sitting herself. His heart pounded, a sudden rush came through as he wondered if she overheard him.

"…Whose that?" Ino pointed, blinking. Her blonde hairs meshed every which way, but she did not seem to mind.

The Hermit darted his gaze from Naruto, there was a threatening sentiment behind the glance, he shuddered at the thought that Jiraiya did not exactly ignore his last words. The feeling worsened at the joyful greeting that followed.

"Why hello there!" He smiled at Ino, making a grab for her palm, which he then kissed. She only rubbed at her eyes, still unbeknownst to what exactly was occurring. "Jiraiya's the name, also known as the great Toad Hermit!" She giggled at his silly manner of speaking, and shook his hand. Naruto watched the linking of hands, and grew suspicious of the Ero-Sennin.

As much as he wished the Turtle Hermit would only stay for a moment or to, he was well aware of the man's charm, the tendency to entice attractive girls. He inherited most of the Jiraiya's qualities, after all.

Each time he found Jiraiya passing him a glance, his eyes boring into his skin. It was enough to have him trembling all day. At this point, he recognized the disappointment running through him, and his conscience was not at all of aid to him.

His eyes trailed down to Satomi, who reached curiously for a rag that was at close reach for her. In her closed corners, the play pen that they managed to arrange, she placed any and all attention towards the orange table rag that hung loosely from the oven handle bars. As tempted as he was to grab hold of Satomi, and press all of his oncoming frustration into a smothering embrace, he forced himself to focus on Ino. She only sipped idly onto her tea cup filled with coffee, captivated by Jiraiya's exaggerations.

Jiraiya took another swallow of his Sake, surprised to know that the boy had a few of his favorite brands right in the house, "Naruto, He lifted the glass in his direction, "since when did you take up drinking?"

"Since you left." He stated, tiredly. His elbow rested atop of the counter, across from the two, his chin laying on his palm. He had hoped that Jiraiya would take the hint, but the man happened to be disregarding any sort of gesture.

"Aha-! You know you can't hold your liquor, boy!" The Toad Hermit banged his fist onto the table, followed by a hoard of cackles. Ino took a glimpse at Naruto, watching him fluster was all too much for her to take, as she too joint the Sannin into hysterics. Directing his attention to Ino, he said, "One day he was begging for it, Miss Yamanaka, and when I actually did give in to handing him one cup of sake he threw up an hour later."

Ino grinned, Naruto could feel himself growing annoyed at the two of them. Ino and Jiraiya have been behaving close to two school girls in a class reunion. "Ah, but that was long ago, I guess the boy did hold some immunity to the alcohol." Naruto drummed his fingers on the surface, witnessing the pen dance in front of his eyes.

He had forgotten how it felt to be the class clown, and had hoped to never return to that state again. "That's funny, at the very least, I'm not a _staggering _drunk." He watched Ino cough up her coffee, bringing the napkin to her lips as her glare darted in his direction. She was not amused.

"Oh?" Jiraiya cocked an eyebrow.

"Ino here can't last much either." It was now his turn to take into the mirth with the Ero-sennin.

Ino wrung her fists, pushing the cup away. "Hardy, har, har." Her eyes rolled, "At least I don't dance like a hooligan."

"DO NOT!" Naruto cried out, his face reddening.

"He dances? I didn't know."

"That's a surprise, the kid can't stop the beat!" She jumped from her chair, carrying out a short hip swinging performance. "And oh boy, don't even get me started on his singing."

"He sings too?" Jiraiya's face lit up, practically absorbed with the idea of the boy prancing around. The Toad Hermit then ran his fingers through his pallid locks, his cackles echoing through the four walls of the kitchen, ringing in Naruto's ears.

"Yeah when I first met him he was singing this song, I forget what it's call--"

"Oh yeah? At least I can swim!"

Naruto received a threatening glare. Ino stepped, _no_ stomped towards him, although she was a few inches shorter than the tall future Hokage she undeniably made her presence known. Eyes narrowing, she gritted her teeth, only a few centimeters away by now. "I too can swim!"

"So then why'd I'd have to hold your hand the whole way, hm?"

"You don't know the half of it! At least I don't drool at night!" His jaw dropped, finding that all their secrets were being spilt in front of Jiraiya like a deck of cards. 52 card pick up. And the man only soaked up what he could, slapping his knee as he attempted to catch his breath.

Any heap of dignity that he had managed to develop after Jiraiya crumbled before him. He was not going to go down so easily, and definitely not alone. "You should be the one to talk! _I _don't have phobias for days!"

"Alright, that's enough." Jiraiya could distinguish the electricity flowing between them, and he was not akin to watching a thunder storm develop in his witness. Holding his hands out, he pulled them back a few inches apart, but it failed to make any progress.

"I don't try to pick up a girl by a lousy favor!"

"Oh alright, put up a guard, like you always do!"

"OKAY!" Jiraiya shouted into Naruto's ear, the boy cringing from the defining bellow, taking a few steps back from them both.

Ino kept herself from completely lunging at him, puffs of breaths escaping her parted lips. The more she stared at him, the angrier she became. _So what did he mean by that? _She thought _Fucking prick._

The Sannin swallowed the portion of Sake that managed to settle in his mouth, feeling the alcohol tingle at his midsection. When he turned to check on Ino, he could see Tsunade's livid anger pouring out from her, and became officially alarmed. The girl was a nut, he concluded, as much as a nut as Naruto. "Alright, tension I see." He sighed heavily, figuring that Naruto was not at all happy either. He then faced Naruto, "Relax." For the oddest reason, he felt the Kyuubi's energy waver through him, and realized that they both hit a few unwanted cords. "Both of you are crazy," The Toad Hermit rubbed at his chin, eyes closing. "Crazy kids, getting riled up over a bunch of nonsense." Mumbling, he then strolled over to Satomi, opting to pick her up.

Ino and Naruto stood at their post, two pairs of blue eyes watching the way Jiraiya held the baby in the air, who only giggled and mused over the Sannin. It left an uncomfortable sentiment to smog over the two of them.

Naruto held a shaky gaze towards Ino, who focused on the patterns of the table rag. He shifted uncomfortably, rubbing at his elbow the way he would do when Kakashi used to tell him he was not enduring his chakra well.

"Uh, I…" He started. His words lingered through the dense atmosphere, over the multitude of goo-goo's and ga-ga's of baby talk. "like that you have irrational fears," He paused before adding, "they show that you're vulnerable."

He expected idiot, but didn't receive the insult…comment. The frustration was now wiped from her expression, a smile playing upon her lips. He found himself satisfied, wanting to make her laugh, perhaps.

The two became immersed in one another, lost in silent banter, by the silly faces Naruto would make and the equally silly efforts Ino had to keep from giggling. Of course, all of it was channeled towards Jiraiya, whom seconds later laid a suspicious glance in their direction, to find the two jolt into pseudo daydreaming.

"Aha, I guess it didn't take long for you two to make up." He placed Satomi back onto the crib, "Well…" He shouted, finishing his drawl with a yawn, stretching his arms towards the ceiling, "I guess it's about time I leave, but before I go," The Ero-Sennin stepped towards Ino, taking a hold of her wrist, "I'd like to ask if you'd give me the pleasure," Naruto's ears twitched, knowing the recognizable change in his tone, "of using you as a reference to my next novel?"

Ino, whom obviously knew nothing of the Icha-Icha Paradise series, beamed at him, nodding her head happily. "She's not interested! Can you leave now?" Naruto pulled Jiraiya away from her, pushing him towards the door.

"Yes I am interested, don't listen to Naruto!" Ino rolled her eyes, watching the Toad Hermit be escorted by the blonde. Jiraiya only turned to wave a pleasant goodbye to Ino, before having the door slammed by Naruto.

"Congratulations Ino, you've now been officially included into Ero-Sennin's adult book." He crossed his arms. She cocked an eyebrow, scratching at her ear.

"Um, exactly, you didn't have to slam the door in his face, stupid." She walked passed him, averting her attention to Satomi, who reached her arms out for Ino.

"…Do you understand what I'm saying? An _adult _novel, as in Kakashi-sensei being the only one reading that junk--"

"Don't say that about your sensei." Ino had her back turned to him, fixated in a game of peek-a-boo.

"AS IN, you have to be older than seventeen to take a glimpse at it," The loud mouth ninja watched the aura of content drastically change to worry, even from behind. "As in," He finished with a grin, "Triple X."

Her posture stiffened, and before he could feel even an ounce of guilt, she was already at the door, her fingers running through the many different locks that she had, all the while Satomi stared wide-eyed at her insane caretaker. "He better not be within walking distance!" She growled, finishing the last few locks, "Jeez why the hell do we have so many,"

"I don't know," Naruto whistled, finding this all amusing to the utmost extent, "you're the one who bought all that security crap."

"Yeah well, whatever!"

"Sure, nice comeback, Ino." She forced the door to swung violently open, it crept a few inches forward anyhow. The wild look splashed upon her features now disappeared, followed by shock. "D-I…Hi." Blood rushed under her eyes, her face flushing at the person in front of her. Curious, Naruto leaned in front of her, he too went into a sputtering speech.

"Miss Yamanaka? Why I didn't expect you to be here." Iruka scratched nervously at the back of his neck, "Perhaps I have the wrong house. Do you happen to know where Naruto…" His russet orbs shifted downward, towards the clueless looking guy.

"…Uh…"

For that split moment between the three of them, there came a defiant truth. **Something** was up, and it was now time to face the music.

Iruka chuckled, oddly concerned for what exactly have those two been up to by the way they appeared to be startled.

"Iruka-sensei!" It's been weeks, **months** since he last seen Iruka, and since he's been at the Ichiraku Ramen Bar. He trapped his former sensei in a bear hug, and Iruka could remember the small noisy student whom he had to look down upon now stand at his exact proportionate.

"Naruto," He patted the boy's back, Ino observed the way Iruka had his eyes shut tight and noted at the idea of a Father-Son reunion occurring before her.

Ino felt the standards of a regular women hit her hard when she realized she could not cook a thing for her old sensei. He did not mind very much, and was happy with a bowl of noodle soup Naruto made for them both, yet she felt somewhat useless in the cooking department, a much feminine feature, or so she was made to believe.

For a child of only a few months, Satomi was very quiet. Not a very fussy child, she oftentimes kept to herself when Naruto and Ino found themselves in another dispute, for lack of better words. As she held Satomi, watching her hold her own bottle of baby formula, her felt the flutters the way a mother would feel when she watched her child fall asleep.

"So, uh, Ino," Iruka coughed, the taste of ramen was clear, "is she yours?" In a both nervous and unhopeful manner, he turned to Naruto, still not being able to put two and two together.

"Oh NO!" Ino laughed loudly, nervously. "She isn't mine, I'm only babysitting for Asuma-sensei."

"Ah, I figured, she did look familiar." He nodded, consciously sighing with relief. He knew Ino was not that sort of girl, and certainly not with having Inoichi as a father.

"So uh, I know it might be a little impolite but are you two…" Iruka pointed at both Ino and Naruto, his index and thumb clicking together as a mocking expression laced onto his features.

"I uh," Naruto sighed, turning to look at Ino who kept her mouth, and only widened her sapphire eyes.

A half-hearted giggle left her, and she felt the firm tie of flutters flurry in her abdomen. "Oh no…" Her eyes closed, tipping her head to the side, "We're just--"

"Friends, that's about it. I needed a place to stay, she was nice enough to give me a room." He spoke, less enthusiastic but still grasping the smile that tucked his lips.

"Ah…" He finished his bowl, placing it atop of Naruto's empty one. Iruka went so far as to put a believable assurance to them both. He stood up, clasping his hands together as he passed Naruto, walking from the kitchen were Jiraiya once stood, now to the living room. He rotated his head onto the hallway, his eyes skimming to count two common sized rooms, which he presumed to be a bedroom as well as bathroom and a thin door at the end of the foyer, possibly a closet. "…_Right_." He grinned, the way Naruto would often do when he had something up his sleeve.

Iruka walked casually, even to go as far as to have his hands behind his back, strolling a few steps closer into the lounge. "Room mate eh? So _where's_ your room Naruto? Here?" He tapped his fingers on the couch.

"Uh…" Somewhere along his response came a sure, or a yeah, but neither Ino nor Naruto could remember, they both felt the wit of Iruka weigh on them both, and the interrogation only started.

"OOoh," Iruka responded, loudly. His understanding statement echoing into the hallway. He went as far as to nod a few times. "You understand that you're not really impressing me with your lies, right?" He snorted, lowering his gaze onto the sofa, patting it, "This doesn't even appear to be comfortable."

"That's what _I_ told her! But NoooOOooo, Iruka-sensei, the woman doesn't listen! I knew I wasn't the only one!" Naruto broke out into a strident protest, Ino gave out a defeated sigh, turning to the side, as she scratched the hairs above her ear.

And although a smack to the head was definitely in order, Iruka was just amazed a how easy it was to admit it, without much an of effort. He could only laugh to himself, finding the dumbfounded look on Ino's pretty face just as amusing.

"Well, I knew _that_ wouldn't work." Ino darted her glare towards Naruto, who in spite of being the fault of all this, joined Iruka in his fit of chuckles,

Iruka could hint Ino relaxing her stance, and ceased with his humor, "Well, that was interesting," He nodded, stretching at his arms, "and amusing all the same, but I believe I've had my share of fun for today."

It was insane, watching two of his students grow at both heights and intellects, not to mention the affection he could see between them. He would have never guessed it, but when it comes to the impulsive, Naruto and Ino were quite proficient in that area. "This was nice, with the screaming and yelling, I rather miss that." He took a glance at the ceiling, lost in memories of scolding at them both when they were much younger, because after all, they were still children in his eyes.

With a peace sign and a smile, Iruka had left the house behind him, into the gentle gusts of autumn wind blowing into his brunette hairs that hung from the hair tie. Ino watched him leave, until the body of a man turned into something consisted with that of a shadow. "That's weird, two visitors in one day."

"Weird? It's like the Ghosts of Christmas past! Next thing I'll know Kakashi-sensei would show up. And he wouldn't knock or barge in like those two, he'd POOF in here!" Ino huffed a short chuckle.

Ino almost expected for her folks to come on by, just like Naruto's fathers. Maybe Naruto was an orphan, but for an orphan he had a lot of fathers that cared for him so

But then again, the idea of Inoichi swinging on by was not at all entertaining. That would mean she'd have to explain it all. And as the saying goes, everything is everything.

---- ---- -----

So she'll yell at him, _so_ what?

Naruto could feel himself drifting off, the television becoming some sort of zombie portal to him. He adjusted himself on the couch, feeling the pressure on his chest where Satomi rested. "That was all too easy," He winded in his thoughts, somewhere in and out of his conscious. His eyes fluttered, catching a gist of the cops that hauled away the prisoner on the screen. He draped a protective arm over the infant, feeling her snuggle into his torso, "Cute kid," He mumbled, feeling the haze of sleep overwhelming him. "I wouldn't drop you,"

There came no reply, but he already acknowledged the solitude. Ino went out for what, he did not really know. She only mumbled a few things before running out of the door.

"Ino doesn't know what she's talking about." His neck rotated, glancing at the pale ceiling. He blinked leisurely, counting the hanging portraits that were situated near the wall.

1.…2.…5...I _hate_ that one. Why the hell does she still have that one up there?, he thought, sucking at his teeth with the idea of the smaller Naruto staring back at him, with his trademark smile across his face.

Somewhere behind him a click was heard, he figured it was Ino and her lame attempt at coming into the house quietly, but was too tired to greet her.

He blinked, again and again, until he merely squinted, losing his awareness as the grasp against the child was now held with less pressure. His free hand dropped onto the soft fabric of the rug, the thump causing him to stir awake one last time,

In which he was greeted with two sapphire orbs, a piercing hue that left him startled. He cried out, widening his glare at the man who held to fingers onto his neck, "WHAT IN--"

"Move an inch, and you'll be left for dead," Inoichi narrowed his livid stare, pressing his fingers onto Naruto's neck. The younger ninja quickened his breathing, completely speechless. He gulped, feeling the accumulated saliva slip into his throat. Much to his dismay, Inoichi only snarled, gritting his teeth.

Unbelievable, the way his heart hammered in his chest. He shivered at him, feeling the sweat beginning to amass on his forehead. He _could_ have spotted him, he _should _have spotted him, and Kakashi-sensei would only scold him for being so dense. **Damn** it.

"W-what are you going to d-do?" Naruto tried to keep his composure, he could feel the paper texture rubbing against his skin, and acknowledged the warning. Any sudden movements and the focal artery on his neck would be spurting out blood. Genius, he'd note, if he was not in such a predicament.

"What are _you _doing _here_?" A tone so dark and murky. "Where's Ino?"

"I wish I knew where she was." God, _please_, somewhere, if you exist, no…I _know_ you exist, save a poor worthless son of a gun…

It was times like these in which his wit would make up for the lack of nerves. "You better have not done anything to her--"

"Daddy?" A voice cut off the monster tone from the well respected Konoha citizen, the hint of crimson in his eyes softened, into which a father was reborn.

"Ino!" Inoichi proceeded to ignore Naruto, turning to see his tipping to the side to balance the bags that dangled from her pinky.

She tried to appear as ecstatic as he was, but failed by expression alone. Naruto's head poked from the couch, a look of horror painted over his face. Ino gulped through her false smile, hoping that her father had not done anything insane yet. Inoichi hauled her into a strong hug, brushing her hair with his hands. What felt like a month of separation was in fact only among two days or so. "Honey, how are you?"

"…Great." Ino curled the ends of her mouth, into a grin. Her bags were dropped, the lack of oxygen suffocating her so.

"Oh." He responded, dumbfounded. He loosened his grip, pulling to stare at his feminine replication. "Sorry." He angled his head to the side, a sweet smile gracing his handsome features. "So who's that?" Inoichi nudged his neck, his eyes rolled with the gesture.

"Ah!" Ino chuckled. Loudly. She waved her hand, so as to brush the topic off, but her father only curved his eyebrow. "He's Naruto, Daddy."

"Yes, I know that. The Kyuubi container, but what is he doing _here_?"

Naruto slumped his shoulders, his backside thumping against the cushion of the couch. He sighed, blowing at his bangs. He already recognized _this_ because he had to live through _this_ his whole life. As much as he wished for people to see him without the association of the demon fox, he knew he could only keep wishing.

And he felt sick. The same nausea poured over him like honey, into his abdomen, seeping into his conscious. He lived by that label, and now he was going to have to watch Ino laugh it off.

Sure, laugh it off, and pretend that nothing ever happened. Pretending did not work with his former sensei's. He knew more than anyone that Jiraiya and Iruka were far more clever than they had led to believe. It made him wonder if she was embarrassed to be with him.

She glanced back and forth between the couch and her father before facing the fine fibers of the floor herself. Her fingers laced into a tight knot, a nervous habit that has yet to be laid to rest. Ino felt her father's blistering stare run her down, burning her face. A sigh left her, lingering into the atmosphere. It took one last moment for her to adjust the frown forming on her face, into a daring smirk,

"Daddy," A brilliant smile, she pulled her knotted fingers out, cracking the air between her knuckles, leaning on her father's side, "He's my boyfriend."

At instinct, Naruto tumbled from the couch, taken aback by her words. He left Satomi resting at the edge of the sofa, practically tripping over his legs to get himself to stand, "She's crazy--don't listen to her!" He cried out, sapphire orbs glazed by the sudden emotion dashing in his chest. His smile widened, as he practically collapsed onto her open arms, his knees crashing onto the floor. He buried his face into her abdomen, hugging her hips for balance. The sudden impulse to shed tears rushing at him, piercing him like bullets. It was a sickly good feeling, an awfully admirable, intense, sentiment that loomed into his chest, swelling his heart, "Crazy, she's crazy, I'm crazy, we're crazy," He mumbled, feeling Ino run her fingers through his hair, "Don't believe it a bit sir, I couldn't tell you how much I loved her even if I tried." His sight was sealed, he held the girl in his arms pretty well.

Ino only snickered, no longer concerned for the way others had thought about her or Naruto. She felt liberated, she felt free. It was release, and she was just happy.

Love tingled all the way down.


	12. The race that really wasn't

A/N: Happy Thanksgiving everybody! And I apologize for not writing this chapter any sooner, but laziness has gotten the better of me.

Oh, special thanks for my Beta-reader, Ian! He did a mighty fine job, hehe.

Chapter 12:

"Oh?" Inoichi said in a tone that brought shivers down the younger man's neck. He placed his hands on his hips, bending over to look Naruto in the eye. Eyebrow cocked, a clueless expression played upon Inoichi handsome features.

Naruto gulped, the accumulated saliva was not enough to rid of the lump that had welled in his throat. His fingers dug deep onto the cotton of Ino's shirt, tugging the clothing on her as a signal. _I'm scared_, the gesture announced, _absolutely out of my wits end_…

Naruto observed the piercing lively orbs that stared back, a bright cerulean hue that had him fixated on finding his blue reflection.

"Crazy, eh?" Inoichi spoke once more, his broad, stable voice lingering into the air. It was difficult to indicate whether the man was peeved or only teasing.

Ino bit her mouth, feeling the pinch as a relief from the anxiety. Although she knew her father was eyeing Naruto at her navel, her mere assumption of his reaction was enough to make her wish she was twelve years old again. She wondered if Naruto could feel it, by the way he clung to her, the way her knees were shaking.

"Erm...Yeah..." Naruto muttered, a stressed chuckle drifting into the atmosphere. He felt himself shrink before the great Jonin. But before the expected violence commenced, the elder threw his head back in laughter. Inoichi's cackles bounced against the walls, nearly shattering the teenager's eardrum.

"Smart answer, kid." Inoichi's palm hovered over Naruto, who immediately flinched. With his eyes tightly shut, Naruto could not see what Inoichi's hand was doing. He instantly grew tense as the other mans hand made contact with him, and it took a few pats on his head for him to realize the older man's reaction.

"Really?" Ino arched an eyebrow, "You're not ma--"

"'Course not!" Inoichi grinned, teeth showing. Standing tall once again, he embraced her as he felt her shoulders relax, "Ino, I'd never be mad. I was only joking! I didn't think the boy would be so easily upset." Naruto felt the air forced out of him; his cries of help were muffled in what little breathing space he had..

'_Easily_ upset?' he thought, 'That was an absolute death threat.'

"But didn't you always push for Shika?" Inoichi's ears twitched at the sound of the other Jonin, Ino's old Team Ten member.

"Ah--no." Inoichi waved his arm, rolling his eyes, "That's your mother, Ino. She's a total nutcase." Finally, he pulled away, turning his attention to Naruto. "So, are you going to _cling _to her _all_ day?"

Naruto loosened his hold on Ino, his hands pushing against the floor to help him stand.

In all actuality, Naruto was now the tallest out of the rookie nine. This was truth he held to the boldest extent, always finding time to mock Sasuke for it, who happened to be a fourth of a centimeter shorter. That did not matter to Naruto, who remained infatuated with the idea of being taller than anyone of his peers. So as he rose, it came to the greatest disappointment that her father stood a good two inches taller than he. "I guess I haven't really introduced myself properly!" He cried out, an octave too loudly, offering his wavering hand. The edges of his broad smile twitched uncontrollably, and he felt sweat begin to build up in his palm.

Inoichi smirked, grabbing onto the hand. It was a few shakes later in when he felt the twinge of his bones popping, and it took all the will in the world to ignore his newly crushed fingers in Ino father's firm hand. He shifted his gaze towards Ino, who had clasped her hands together, too pleased with her father to acknowledge his phoniness.

"Ah, so how has the baby been treating you?" Inoichi asked, releasing the solid grip on Naruto's hand, leaving the younger boy trying not to wince.

"Actually, she's really quiet, we haven't had much of a problem with her!" Ino smiled, glancing at the sleeping child.

"That's always good." He chuckled, walking over to the child. "But it's about time to say goodbye-"

"What?!" Naruto exclaimed, Ino widened her eyes.

"Yeah!" Inoichi settled the child in his arms. "Her parents arrived this morning, they were a bit exhausted so I offered to come by--"

"Right now?" Inoichi watched the frown form on Ino's face.

"Yes," Inoichi replied, the grin on his face turning into a frown.

"But, no one even told us!"

He sighed, walking towards the carriage. "I thought I was doing you a favor, Ino," he said, his fingers fastened onto the plastic handle.

Naruto and Ino were silenced by the idea of having Satomi taken from them. The clicks and snaps of Satomi being strapped echoed against the walls, ringing in Naruto's ears. It was a depressing sight, and as much as he believed the infant had her annoyances, it was strange to have her leave.

"We could've dropped her off at Asuma-sensei's…" mumbled Ino, observing the way her father lifted the carriage. Satomi was caught amidst one of her afternoon naps, snuggling into her padded carriage. "Ah!" She quickly snapped, her index finger lifted, "You're right! Phew! Glad that job is over!" She made a gesture with her wrist, gliding it across her forehead.

"Glad you see it that way." Inoichi reached over to kiss his daughter's cheek before adding, "Ino, don't let yourself get so caught up, I'm sure Asuma and Kurenai will have plenty of missions in the future." Her father smiled one last time, his back towards the two as he headed towards the door. As much as Ino wanted to follow her father, she allowed herself to become comforted by his preceding words.

It was Naruto who dashed forward, grabbing onto the door before it would click against the lock. "Wait!" he shouted, into the ear of Inoichi, who cringed by the sudden yelp. "You forgot this." He pulled the strap that hung from his shoulders.

The Jonin received the baby bag, nodding his head. "Nice," he replied. He leaned forward, his friendly tone disappearing as if it never existed, "Believe me, I wouldn't have hesitated…" And as Naruto instinctively lifted his head for a loud quip of some sort, a retort, or even to go as low as an acceptance to his challenge, the man vanished before his very eyes. A true ninja indeed. What awaited before the open door consisted of fallen tree leaves, leaking the autumn shades.

"Oh yeah! We'll see about that!" he shouted at nothing in particular, fist pumping in mid-air. His foot flicked the end of the door, hearing it shut with a simple click. Naruto slapped his hands together, simply pleased with himself. "Crazy man…" he mumbled under his breath. A grin marked his lips. "But we have the place all to ourselves! You know what that means…" He lifted his head, witnessing Ino situated on the couch.

Her hair was tied on a messy bun, with a few fair-haired locks in disarray. She hugged her knees towards her chest, her mouth hovering above her kneecaps. It was a strange sight, he noted, on how easy it was for her to be beautiful, without even trying. She nuzzled her temple further into the cloth of her pants, her face hidden between her crossed arms. "You know it's funny...in the beginning I didn't want her here. I would've been happy with her gone, but now...I wish she could've stayed longer."

"Yeah I know." He plopped himself beside her, his arm suddenly resting against her shoulders. "We'll be the first to volunteer, alright? That is, if we don't have to do missions. Oh wait, I meant when _I _don't have to do a mission."

"Shut up!" she snapped, raising her head. Rolling her eyes, she playfully punched his side. "I figured it'd be that way. I haven't had a mission for months, I suppose I'm on the waiting list."

"Yeeeaaaahhh…" he drawled, "But don't you worry, I've been pestering Granny-Tsunade long enough, and she promised to put us both on my next A-rank."

"Really?"

"'Course." He pressed his cheek against her knee. "I'm just hoping your dad doesn't kill me before then!"

"My father's just worried about me," she assured him, "He's a nice guy, really."

"Yeah I guess," he said flatly, completely unconvinced.

--- --- ---

Autumn was in early bloom, by the way Ino observed the leaves blend into the multitude of auburn and ginger. She found herself absorbed by the decorations of nature, the vivid hues among the trees ahead of her. She tugged her scarf, her bracelet dancing with motion. It clacked against her skin, alongside the layers of shirts and jackets she managed to pull on this morning. She frowned, believing she overdressed for a surprisingly warm day of September.

"So, are you going to enlighten me anytime soon?" Naruto brought his palm towards his mouth, coughing to crack her distraction.

"Ahh, I wasn't out of it for long." She pushed him lightly, her fingers probing for his arm. "And no, it's a surprise." The mere thought of their destination had her heart pounding. A nervous chuckle left her, she tightened her fingers against his warm palm.

They continued to stroll leisurely through the back woods, their legs treading through the small heaps of accumulated leaves.

"This looks familiar," he observed, surprised by her sudden anxiety. "I'm guessing we're heading towards the riverside."

Ino breathed deeply, her hands beginning to jitter. She believed Sakura was already waiting for her. She could picture it now, Sakura with an impatient expression, tapping her foot against the wooden docks. Her rosy hair already tied in a small braid, a few short hairs sticking out on the back.

What she could not picture was whether Sakura had already stripped herself off of her clothes and would be waiting with her bathing suit. The weather called for the occasion, at the very least.

Well, she can' have the Medical-nin waiting for too long, right?

A few bushes covered the entrance to the pond; Ino who remained too restless to wait pulled away from Naruto's hold. She ran from him, trotting past the bushes. Naruto paused, jamming his hands into his pockets as he watched Ino leave. "Jeez, what's gotten into you?" he shook his head, biting off a grin that sought to cover his face.

Ino halted from her sudden dash, bringing out her arms to press herself against the railing. The current tugged the scarf loosely from her shoulders as it danced in the wind.

"Aye, you actually showed up!" Sakura beamed, and just as Ino predicted, a bikini top was exposed under her open jacket.

"'Course I did! I'm here for the free meal, and to kick your ass."

"Yeah, yeah…" Sakura sucked her teeth, engrossed in her sarcasm. "I'd be a good day if you didn't drown--"

"YOU wish!" Ino grinned cheesily, grabbing onto Sakura's hand. Something about Sakura's behavior swayed Ino's silliness. Ino laughed, loudly and obnoxiously, fueled by the irritated expression her friend gave her.

Sakura held her mouth agape, prepared to question Ino's sudden goofiness when something caught the side her eye. She lifted her head, ignoring her friend's ridiculous conduct. She suddenly smiled, yanking her limb from Ino's grip, as she charged towards the teenager who appeared to have waited for her. Ino held her grin, as she casually leaned to the side, her arrogance had her practically egotistical. It was when she saw exactly _who_ Sakura was running towards was when she quickly finished her mockery.

Naruto flicked at the twig that stuck into the fabric of his jacket. He squinted his gaze, raising his arm to wave Ino over, but she appeared to be occupied with some sort of frie--

He paused. His pulse coming to a shattering end. He felt the blood drain from his face, a dark sort of pang sinking into his abdomen. Speechless. He was speechless. His light eyes became fixated on the figure who unexpectedly charged towards him.

He wanted to run, to dash completely backwards and head on back to _home_. As he urged his legs to move he found himself fastened on the timber. Sakura called his name, he cringed. She made her way towards him, her delicate fingers suddenly tangled in his locks as she pulled him, her warm lips bashing into his cold mouth. His arms instinctively pulled back, his body unacquainted with the touches it was receiving. She giggled in the middle of her kiss, as she tugged his jacket to catch a deeper part of his mouth. Naruto was taken aback, shocked by the gesture. He shivered from the warmth he felt by her touch, her scent unexpectedly stirred his conscious.

"I'm sorry Naruto, I couldn't help it." Her arms swooped from under his jacket, embracing his waist. "I missed you, I realized what a mistake I was making all these years."

He stared at Sakura, her rosy orbs filled with affection, with gentleness. He would have replied, but he found it hard to breath at the moment.

"That dinner was so beautiful." Dinner? When in the world... "I forgot how funny you are!" she mused, continuing to admit herself. "Gosh, I love you so much."

He felt himself grow numb. Finally, she pulled back, a sweet smile still plastered on her lips. "We have a lot to talk about." She tapped her fingers against his parted mouth, adding, "But I have to do something first. I have a bet to finish." Sakura turned away from him, skipping her way back to the end of the docks.

Naruto felt his mouth quiver. Terrified, his eyes darted to the female who appeared to be shocked, her fingers clutched towards her chest. He could not quite specify the look in her eyes, from so far away, but he could feel the heartache tear at him. "..I…Ino!" He called out, awkwardly, nervously.

Miraculously, his legs gave into the thought of movement. He stumbled a few steps before dashing ahead as fast as he could, despite the effort his conscious made to completely _stop_.

Ino swallowed the awful lump that formed on her throat, indulged in what felt like hatred and rage. Her fingernails dug angrily into her palm, she felt the pinch of her skin breaking, but did not flinch. As Sakura drew nearer, she had all the urge to give her so called _friend_ a nice blow to the face.

Yet, she stopped herself, and held all the accumulated bitterness within. As much as she wanted, oh how she _longed_ for relenting into abhorrence, she knew Asuma-sensei had taught her much wiser.

Ino flung the scarf over her head, no longer concerned with its well being. She could not remember if she yanked her shirt off in an attempt to get herself equipped for the race, or because it was delaying her chance to beat down Sakura, but the water no longer looked so chilly in her dearest opinion.

Ino bit her lip, pulling at the jeans that clung to her, before stepping into the cool pond _without_ hesitation. All the lessons in the world could not prepare her for this

"Jeez, Ino, you're in a hurry!" Sakura chuckled, taking her jacket off. "So what will we have?"

"To the end of the other side," Ino blurted out, too enraged to speak any further. Sakura dipped herself into the water, yelping from the icy water.

"It's so cold!" She brought her arms to her chest, given out a shiver or two. She placed her fingers onto the docks, raising herself enough for Naruto to see, "It's a race, and watch me win!" Sakura advised him. "So, here goes nothing!" She laughed, tapping her palm onto the surface, "One…two…three!"

Naruto scurried, hoping to get around the body of water before either of them could finish. He ran through the woods, his eyes were fixated on Ino. "Whoa…" he murmured, astounded by the dangerous will in Ino's eyes. She practically ripped through the water, against the flow of the wind. He could not believe it, the way she pushed her arms forward and swam through the bottomless pond.

Sakura was miles behind, she too trying to make her way through the water.

Naruto shouted Ino's name, gasping for air as he ended his own race. He felt himself double-over, almost losing his balance as the sense of his surroundings was now lost to him. "You don't understand." he said, surprised even by his own tone of voice. He watched as her arm grabbed a hold of the side of the pond's edge, her digits digging into the dirt as she propelled herself forward, winning the race.

She took two steps out of the pond, drips of water trickling down the curves of her body. Her eyes held a dark tint to them as she took a few more steps forward. Hard, forced breaths released from her chest, she wrung her hands into fists as she forced herself to ignore the person in front of her.

Naruto grabbed her wrist, tugging at it weakly. He stared at the ground, the echoes of the soft wind becoming the melody that rang into his ears. "Ino, please, you don't understand--"

A loud snap, a crack of a whip was heard afterwards. At least, that is how Naruto interpreted it. His cheek was forced to face away from her as her palm made contact with his face. It was a livid gesture, he could feel the tears build up in his eyes from the sting. Her huffs of air recoiled as she continued to walk away, wordlessly.

He stood there, his fingers raising to hover over the warm spot. 'Shit' He thought to himself, the sick reality beginning to sink in, where the nightmare of having to face his fears was propelling itself into truth.

It didn't matter to him anymore, what Sakura must have thought, but he felt himself quickly grew tense, his hand too jolted to rub at his sore cheek.

"…She…seems in a real hurry!" Sakura clapped her hand against the ground, breathing in loud, tired puffs. "I guess she won."

--- --- ---

Shikamaru grunted, not at all fond of being ignored. Sure, he missed that whole match Ino would not stop talking about for weeks, the very same contest that he obviously was training Ino for these ten days or so.

He guessed oversleeping was not the greatest excuse in the world.

He sighed once more, his knuckles knocking against the door in an impatient manner. The Jonin glanced to the left and to the right, witnessing no onlookers as he began peek into the small hole that was carved from the door, in a heart shape of course. It was embarrassing, having to peep through the house for his silly friend. Yet, that is how far Ino's stubbornness would go, as long as she got the attention she wanted.

"Amazing," he scoffed, his hand cupping the doorknob. From the peephole, he could see Ino situated on a kitchen stool, her back to him. "You have quite the ability to disregard." He said, opening the door in full swing as he entered her house. "It couldn't have been that bad."

It was then that his dark eyes spotted the unnamed bottle of Sake rolling from the kitchen counter, plummeting into the carpet with a muffled cling. "I guess the event called for a celebration." He snorted, a bit surprised, he knew Ino was not an alcoholic. His eyes widened, the sight of the counter had him alarmed. Four bottles of unarranged Sake bottles were resting upon the surface of the counter. A few drips of the container to the far right dribbled in a small puddle of clear liquid. "Wow." he kicked the bottle, witnessing it twirl with the motion, before gradually coming to a halt, pointing its tip towards the girl in front of him.

The aura that poured out of her left him wordless. She had her back hunched in his direction. He bit his lip, concerned by the soft pitter patters of her breathing pace. His hand reached forward, gently brushing against her shoulder blades. On impulse she spun from her chair, lifting her eyes as she gazed at the taller man in front of her.

A sick silence passed between them. Shikamaru could not think of any proceeding words for the life of him. He understood that this was not any sort of feeble problem. But before he could actually find any consoling words, any soothing utterances, just about anything to keep her from looking so completely miserable, she yanked his shirt, pulling herself into his chest. He felt her heartache, spill in front of him in the sort of sense that left him frightened.

She cried, her dry sobs reverberated, ringing his ears. He figured she had already cried before, by the hoarseness of her vocal cords. A frowned smothered his mouth, as he accepted his impression of helplessness.

Instead of scowling, a loose sigh escaped him. He gradually brought his arms against her midsection, pulling her into the tightest embrace he possibly could. She lost her balance, squeezing herself onto his torso.

He allowed his teeth to skim along his bottom lip, attempting his best to speak any sort of assurance, but found none.

"I'm sorry," he spoke moments later, "For whatever it is that you're feeling."

The more she cried, the more foolish she felt.


	13. Game of Love

A/N: Sorry for the wait, things had to be delayed. A MILLION thanks to my awesome beta in all teh land, TAKA! I am reading all comments, and I'm sorry for ruining some of your Thanksgivings, hehe. And to all those who are still enjoying it, thanks for your patience! I felt sorta bad for the depressing tone in last chapter so this one has sort of a comedic feel to it, so I hope ya'll enjoy it!

Chapter 13:

Sasuke rolled his eyes, his palms scrunching into fists. He tried to remain casual, in his usual arrogant saunter, but today there was no _umph_ in his step. In fact, there was just no impulse for pride. He scratched his neck, his slippers dragging long behind him. Obsidian eyes darted towards a figure who gleefully flipped a stack of pancakes that sizzled pleasantly on the frying pan.

It was mayhem that was occurring before Sasuke Uchiha, a peaceful _disorder_, as he'd like to describe it. He grit his teeth, his limbs tensing. The despicable acts of kindness had been going on for a while now, and he was nearing his breaking point.

Somehow, in this sick charade, he had tolerated days of a very perky, and awfully cheery Naruto.

He could still recall the chills that ran through his spine at his friend's arrival. Though he couldn't remember it perfectly, the absolute sadness that withstood in Naruto's features, when Sasuke managed to open the door, were impossible to forget.

"I need a place to stay." Naruto had said, that night. Although it was a strange appearance, it was nothing new when it came to his good friend. Sasuke had become accustomed to having Naruto appear at the drop of a hat, in the most random of moments. But this time was different. There was no fox-like grin on his face, nor did Naruto take the time to pat his head or any of the sort. But, at the time, Sasuke did not think much of it. The boy was probably tired, he figured, or _something_; it was bound to pass.

Yet, it did not pass. To anyone else it would most likely appeared to have, but in Sasuke's eyes, it certainly had not.

The plastic smile Naruto would flash was undoubtedly the first clue. There was no possible way anyone on earth could be so happy, twenty four hours a day!

Sasuke was beginning to miss his friend's old, unbearable persona.

"Morning, Sasuke! Ya want some, ol buddy?" Sasuke cringed, glaring angrily at his blonde friend. An exhausted sigh left Sasuke as he grabbed his plate in defeat. Well, that was corny, but what else could he expect? He had three weeks of corny!

Not to mention that unbearable humming.

Having snatched the plate from Naruto's hand, Sasuke crammed a pancake into his mouth. He chewed heavily, crumbs falling from his slightly open mouth.

"What are you, incredibly hungry?"

"No." Sasuke then reached his arm over for another pancake, ignoring the burning sensation on his finger tips. "Not at all."

"Oh yeah? I'm not convinced."

The Uchiha boy eyed his friend, "I should say the same." He watched as Naruto passed him a glance that implied uncertainty, but only for a second before his signature smile emerged; the fox-like grin. This caused Sasuke to snap, "What the hell is so funny?!"

"Is this one of those _days _for you? I should have been warned beforehand," Naruto replied.

"In your case, I should have been warned weeks ago!"

"Really, now?" Naruto cocked an eyebrow, lifting his pan. "Pancake?" he offered.

"No! I don't want anymore! In fact stop cooking for me like you're some kind of wife of mine!" Pancake bits flew every which way, Sasuke managed to pump his fist into the air for some time before he realized Naruto was no longer paying any attention. The latter curved his mouth to the side, appearing rather distress, looking at nothing in particular.

It was then that Sasuke made a grab for Naruto's collar, scrunching the cloth into his fist. He made a harsh jerk, pulling the blonde so as to have his cerulean eyes completely in view. Naruto did not react, yet, he held onto his sadness, shifting his gaze to his friend; at this point, Sasuke would have preferred his hyper-activeness. "What's wrong with you? You're happy one second, and the polar opposite the next."

"I guess I couldn't fool you," Naruto said, shrugging his shoulders as Sasuke loosened his grip.

"You sure couldn't. That was a piss poor job, in fact," Sasuke criticized, yet a relaxed expression played upon his features. "Don't tell me this has something to do with Sakura."

Naruto sighed, folding his hands behind his neck. "You have no idea."

--- --- ---

Ino felt the sunshine tickle her face, and turned over. She forgot to close the shutters again. Getting up was not as easy as it used to be, her phase of being a morning girl now over. Her legs were tangled in creased bed sheets, and her limbs shivered from the lack of warmth in the room. Ino rolled her eyes, an exasperated sigh leaving her. Sleeping alone was not as fun as it used to be.

She growned, then clicked her tongue. Reaching for a pillow, she understood that she could no longer fall back asleep, but perhaps pretending was just as good.

For the few seconds that followed there was a nauseating silence. She could hear the muffled laughs and giggles of children waddling in the snowy weather, unusual for November. She then grunted, suddenly disgusted with her lethargic behavior. "I gotta get up," she cursed under her breath, lifting herself from her arms which ached from lack of exercise.

It was a doorbell that abruptly brought her inert for a moment. "Who is that?" she asked to noone but herself. Her mind scanned for the possible candidates as she made her way out of her messy bedroom. 'Shika?…Chouji? Can't be, they both came yesterday night…Asuma-sensei?' Ino scratched the back of her ear, making her way towards the door.

Her palm latched onto the doorknob, the cold metal sending a chilly shiver running down her neck. She frowned as she observed her attire, knowing that it was unlike her to be so…sloppy. "I bet it's my father," Ino muttered, crossly.

The door creaked as it was opened, exposing a certain rosy haired girl. Ino suddenly felt her muscles tense at the sight of Sakura, who only held a smile. Ino's fingernails bore into her palm, almost breaking skin. 'What the hell is she doing here?'

"Hi there, Ino!" Sakura leaned forward, pulling her friend into an embrace, "Jeez, Ino, it's an hour past noon, when the heck are you going to get up?" She spoke against her ear, bringing a second round of quivers.

"Never, alright?" Ino pulled away from Sakura, stepping back a few feet.

"Oh, stop." Sakura walked into the house as she proceeded to turn Ino around.

"What are you doing?!"

"We're getting you showered, changed, and you and I are going to have a little chat."

Ino frowned, pushing down on her heels until Sakura could no longer press forward. It was a sick thing to do, she thought, to rub it in her face about that whole swimming incident. Well, she was not going to embarrass herself twice! "I'm not going, Sakura."

"What do you mean, silly?" Sakura chuckled, letting herself into Ino's room. "You've got to! You won, remember? It was a bet, and I'm not going back on my word. A real top-notch meal, my treat."

Shocked, Ino wiped at her sleepy eyes. She completely forgot about that stupid bet! Either Sakura had something up her sleeve, or the girl was really oblivious.

"Well, let's see… this is really cute!" Sakura squealed, pulling the blouse from the closet, throwing it onto the bed. She turned, surprised to find Ino standing before her. "Well? Go take a shower, we don't have all day."

Maybe she was lonely, and maybe she really did want to talk to Sakura. Whatever the reason it was, Ino only slumped her shoulders in defeat, dragging her feet into the bathroom.

She groaned when she stepped foot back into her room. The gloomy atmosphere that she had established over the weeks was no longer, instead a new set of bed sheets welcomed her, as well as an almost perfect view of the sun's rays practically blinding her. "What'd you do?" Ino shouted, clutching the towel closer, her foot stomping onto the carpet. "You wrecked my room!"

"Huh?" Sakura turned, rolling her eyes. "Oh please," she waved her arm, casually. "It was depressing in here. So are you going to change or what?"

Ino cringed at the sight of the clothes that awaited her. A stupid dress was not at all what she wanted to wear. In the dead of winter, it seemed, it was not the best thing to have her shoulders bare. As much as she complained, Sakura kept insisting. Fed up, Ino snatched the dress from her friend, stomping towards her dresser for her undergarments.

A few seconds passed, as Ino idly hummed to herself, looking through the heap of underwear before she noticed Sakura was still in the room. "Sakura, get out!"

"What? Why? I've seen you changed plenty times before." Sakura reverted her attention towards her cuticles before saying, "We don't have all day."

--- --- ---

Ino glimpsed at her menu, utterly surprised at the prices listed. "Why'd you bring me here? A fast food place woulda been nice." She held her breath, peeking below at her dress, and came to the conclusion that perhaps Sakura's choice of a restaurant was better. At least, walking into the fancy joint wasn't so hard, especially when they cranked the heat.

"I've never been here, Sasuke said it was nice." Sakura observed the setting, impressed with the velvet hues, and scarlet drapes. It was apparent that red was a favorite in this restaurant.

"Maybe Sasuke's gay," Ino muttered. It was a moment before she hesitated, realizing what she just said. She brought her hand to her mouth, imagining if she had indeed said those words. By the way Sakura stared at her, mouth slightly agape, it seemed so. For a second, she thought of excusing herself or at least taking back her words. But what followed shortly became a shrug, "Ah, well maybe he is!" She chuckled, her finger gliding across the words as she read them aloud.

What followed was another one of those awkward silences.

Sakura probably was still infatuated with him, she guessed, as much as a childhood crush can get. It seemed as thought she was not bothered for long when she asked, "So what's been up lately?"

"Don't know." Ino shrugged, observing the antique radio at the far end of the table. She felt her stomach squeeze, but refused to dwell deeper into her memory, "It's sorta hard living alone."

"Ah, it isn't so bad," Sakura laughed. "You'll get used to it."

"Either that or I'll be busy being poor." She smiled, amused by her own joke. She felt a bit odd at the moment, a little comical and witty. The more she spoke, the more loose she was beginning to get. "How about you?" In all actuality, Ino wasn't very interested in what Sakura was doing.

"Same," Sakura blurted out. "Except," she began to chew on her lip. Ino suddenly locked eyes with Sakura's blue-green orbs. A sudden splash of sadness then settled within Ino's stomach, a few chills ran down her spine. There was something sickening that forced her to gaze at Sakura, where the girl across from her began to shift uncomfortably in her chair.

"Well?" Ino rolled her eyes, quickly growing irritated with Sakura's nonexistent problems.

An embarrassed laugh slipped from her tongue. "It's nothing--I guess. I mean--it's actually sorta stupid. Just ignore me."

"Oh no. It's far to late for that." Ino's chin bumped against the glass table. She understood her behavior was far too childish than usual, but shrugged it off. To be sitting across from the girl she wanted more than anything to strangle, especially keeping her big mouth shut while doing so, she thought the best way to act was indeed casual. This was just about as relaxed as she could get. "I think we've known each other far too long to just let something slip passed us, don't you?"

"…It's just that he's been ignoring me, I haven't spoke to him since we had that race." Sakura reached towards the right, where a portable antique radio rested against the mirror wall that reflected her sad expression. She fiddled with the dial, hoping to occupy herself with the fizzle of noises of random radio. "I miss Naruto," she sighed.

"Oh." Ino suddenly pushed herself against the cushion of the chair, her heels tapping against the wooden floor. No longer able to control herself she leaned forward, her teeth grinding against one another. "Are you serious?" she manage to blurt out, a impulsive wave of anger rushing past her.

"Yeah, I know what you must think." Sakura slapped her forehead. "You'd never think I'd actually like that idiot, but it seems we're both wrong."

"No, that isn't what I'm trying to say!" Unfortunately, Sakura's full attention was diverted into the radio, raising the volume so as to disregard any signs of irritation from Ino.

"You probably think I'm crazy, we went on one date a few back and I saw a side of him I never thought existed."

Ino forced herself to swallow the anger, and instead continued to listen to Sakura, who appeared to be more of a damsel in distress the more she spoke.

"He's a little silly, but it wasn't until that day until I realized how cute and funny he really is…" Sakura rested her chin on her palm, her fingers continuing to turn the knob this way and that. "He's real crazy, you know? He still loves me after all these years and I always ignored him, for what? Sasuke and I were just meant to be friends, I now believe. The entire time, when we were on that date, he was so mature--and not so ridiculous."

Anger slowly became sadness, Ino felt the hot tears begin to sting her eyes. She turned away from Sakura, focusing on the simple design of the radio as well.

"_Would it count, if you didn't act like yourself_?" He asked again, his voice burning into her memory, as crisp and clear as when he first questioned her on that cloudy day. It was then that she realized, the day when Naruto suddenly flopped onto her bed, the day where he happened to have a lot on his mind…she never thought she'd figure him out so easily.

"Maybe this time, I'm not wrong, maybe it is love. I pushed him away for so long, I hope he still feels the way I do for him," Sakura whispered, and wiped at her eye, smearing a small tear from her face.

'Except, you weren't in love with him to begin with!' Ino wanted to scream, to shout, to cry. She felt a lump beginning the form in her throat. As much as she wanted to express herself though, she knew the girl sitting across from her wanted nothing more than to do the same.

What was she to do?

She sighed, watching with misery as Sakura finally stopped the dial. The sounds of claps and a piano echoed from the radio, filling her ears.

_Ooh baby love, my baby love, _the words lingered into the air, and Ino felt a quiver a grief depress her entirely. The odds, she thought, of a stupid little love song to seal the silent void!

_I need you, oh how I need you  
But all you do is treat me bad  
Break my heart and leave me sad_

Forcing any and all nausea inflicted emotions, Ino turned to Sakura, finding the way she sulked in her depression distressing, not to mention pathetic.

"Alright, enough!" Ino cried out, her fist banging onto the surface, breaking Sakura from her gloomy spell. A smile formed on her lips, as she took control of the radio, quickly tuning out the song in hopes of find one with a lighter mood. "This is crazy! You're driving both of us insane!!" she declared, another resonance of percussion played from the radio.

Her smile grew into a grin, as her heels tapped with the beat of the song. She knew this song, and she knew it pretty well, thanks to her parents adoration of Saturday Morning radio. She snapped her fingers, pulling herself into a standing position. Sakura widened her gaze, speechless at the sight of Ino preparing to make a fool out of herself. Ino quickly grabbed onto a knife that rested on the counter, as a heel of hers settled itself on the table for balance. "Ino, what are d-doing?" Blood began to rush onto Sakura's cheeks, she bit her thumb, turning to the people who suddenly caught interest in the two of them.

"Allow me to serenade you…" Ino smirked, bringing the knife closer to her lip. _"Sakura…" _Her tone of voice lowered a few octaves, so as to match the tone of the woman on the radio, _"darling Sakura…"_

"Ino, please!!" Sakura sunk herself lower, so as to avoid the curious eyes from the bystanders. "Not here, c'mon!" she whined. "You're just as crazy as Naruto!"

"_Thank you for all the joy and pain."_ Ino moved to the beat, the ends of her dress swaying. She guessed there were people staring, but frankly she could not care less. With one hand close to her mouth, and the other directing at the humiliated Sakura. _"Picture shows, second balcony, was the place we'd meet, second seat, go Dutch treat, you were sweet." _Ino leaned forward, tipping her finger on Sakura's chin, completely amused by the embarrassment she was ensuing.

"Okay, okay, I'm not sad anymore, get down!" Sakura cupped her hands together, whispering to Ino in what became a mother-like tone. "Get down right now!"

"_Sakura, darling Sakura, thank you for walks down lovers lane." _It was Sakura's wishful thinking that had her hoping no one would witness this charade. But, she knew damn well how incredibly wrong she was, and as she met with the eyes of the crowd that happened to form around their table, with an Ino who was just **too** into the song itself, she could say that there was a small tinge of amusement in her, seeing Ino parade around like that.

"_I can see, hearts carved on a tree, letters intertwined, for all time, yours and mine, that was fine!"_

_--- --- ---_

Sasuke widened his eyes in complete silence. There was no quip, no sarcasm. For once in his life, Sasuke was out of whim with his words.

He could only stare in wonder as Naruto finally finished his fantasy dream. What a guy, he thought, he must've been up all night thinking up this bullshit! Really, he was beginning to understand the Sakura bit, but when he decided to throw in Miss Ino Yamanaka, that was when he could only stand back in utter disbelief at the liar that was Naruto Uzumaki. "Wow," he said, "Just wow."

"You don't believe me, do you?"

"You expect me to believe that you're involved in some sort of love triangle with Sakura and Ino Yamanaka?" Sasuke arched an eyebrow, witnessing the blonde nod his head earnestly. He waited a moment before saying, "Yeah, okay. Well, I believe I'm starving. That little tale you told me took the entire day, what an imagination, Naruto…"

"Sasuke…this is real, it's happening, and I don't know what to do!" Naruto grabbed onto Sasuke's shirt, shaking the Uchiha heir.

Sasuke was unimpressed, or rather, he could not find himself to believe him. He grabbed onto Naruto's hand, plucking the fingers away from his shirt. "This seems more to me like a fantasy than a nightmare, in your case."

"Except--!!" Finding no other retort, he allowed for that to settle. "I think I'm in--"

"I forgot to mention, I don't care to listen!" Sasuke quickly interrupted.

"Love, I think I'm in."


	14. Promise

A/N: An apology is in order. Uhh…I'm sorry I took so long, I can't even blame anyone. I suck man, I had this story pending for how long? And I was just too lazy to look at my mistakes my beta sent me (that and lack of time and patience). Anyway if any crackheads want to complain about how short this chapter is…then, well it will be ignored.

Many thanks to TAKA! Da ill Beta!.

------ ----- -----

Chapter 14:

"Maybe I could help you get him back," Ino suddenly blurted; the words escaped her so quickly that she didn't quite grasp them until it was too late. They lingered in the air, blowing with the breeze. "I mean, he's always liked you." She spoke through clenched teeth. "Ever since you were kids, right?" she added with a hint of a smile lingering.

"Would you really do that for me?" Sakura was wide-eyed, turning to stare at her friend. She was surprised by the sudden proposition and found herself flashing Ino a smile full of excitement. Some sort of intrigued interest quivered in her words, leaving a burning impression in Ino's midsection. It was a content and grotesque feeling all the same.

Was this some sort of revenge, she thought, for Sakura? She couldn't quite explain her actions, but she understood she could not back down now.

They strolled down the lively Konoha streets, leaving a trail of footprints in the melted snow behind them.

She hesitated a bit, before mumbling, "S-Sure," the enthusiasm leaving her faster than it had first came.

"Ino, even though we fought for most of our childhood," Sakura made a grab for Ino's cold fingers, "You were always my closest friend."

"You are too." Ino hid her wicked smile, tipping her head to the side. They continued to walk through the streets, warm fingers entwined.

--- ---- ---- -----

Of course, it was inevitable that Naruto would find her, and the occasion called for her impeccable timing.

Whipping up a top notch meal was beginning to bore him. Not to mention Sasuke was out of the house, surprisingly, and being alone was such a drag. Besides, he thought, taking a stroll was far more interesting than dwelling inside Sasuke's boring, old, don't-touch-anything apartment.

He chucked the spoon back into the empty soup bowl, the metal clattering against the dishware before he sighed. "Well," He murmured lowly, drumming his fingers on the broad counter in front of him, "that was good!" he chuckled softly, reaching into his pocket for cold crisp yen bills

Naruto waved one last goodbye to the owner as he stepped away from the Ramen shop. But before he could shift his gaze to the pallid scenery of snowy Konoha, a certain flow of blond hair left his eyes lingering and his heart pounding. He stared ahead of himself, finding it quite difficult to hold his breath.

Ino, quite the oblivious one, continued to walk away, her back to him. He held his eyes on the back on her back, soaking in the image of her hair as it bounced with each step. Blonde locks in a ponytail, of course, because Ino was always lazy in the morning. He smiled down at the trail of snow, fighting the urge to hoot or holler. He couldn't quite explain the wildness in himself, but chose to correspond with impulse.

First in long strides, he broke his steps into a scurry, trying his best to catch up to the quick moving Ino in a noiseless manner.

Naturally, he was too caught up in reaching her to figure out any sort of smooth talking, so when he did reach her, he allowed a faint, embarrased blush to settle on his cheeks.

Ino remained wordless, misplaced in her own thoughts of sorts to consider looking over her shoulder. She wore a black jacket and the hem of a skirt that fluttered just below her knees. He cocked an eyebrow, surprised at her manner of dress but it was at this moment that he could not help himself, or his libido.

"I've seen you somewhere else before." He leaned in slightly close, his voice hoarse. The sudden roughness shed Ino from her closed state and she physically shook, completely taken aback. "Can you help me? I'm lost."

She tipped her head to the side, catching the sight of the ever eager Naruto; she even appeared relieved for a second or too until she let out a soft sigh. "You were always lost."

"No, I don't believe so." He scratched at his chin, peering at the sky for a moment before returning his gaze. "I wasn't always lost."

"Oh yeah?"

"…Yes." He nodded. They continued to walk a few paces ahead. As comfortable as she used to be with him, she was surprised to take note of how awkward it felt now at the moment.

Naruto eyed the road ahead, which continued to be a trail of empty road. He then dropped his gaze, his fingertips reaching over to gently brush against her warm skin. "You know you slapped the hell outta me back then." He chuckled, hoping to have cleared any bad air.

A slight smile crept on her lips as she shook her head, locks of her hair dancing from side to side. "You're so dumb," Ino said quietly, turning to meet his gaze.

Another void of silence passed and Naruto began to fiddle with his hands. Mind blank, he could not configure any sort of words to form a conversation. Not to mention, as much as he tried to withdraw it, he felt the same tingle in himself, so much so that he ceased smiling.

"So how's Sasuke?" Ino asked, unexpectedly.

"Grumpy, quiet, same bastard he always was. He calls me his house wife," Naruto sulked, briefly remembering the short memories of Sasuke practically beating him with a wooden spoon. "How'd you figure?"

"You're wearing his clothes." She remarked, poking at the navy blue shirt that unveiled itself under an unzipped overcoat, a glimpse of the Uchiha symbol proudly peaking underneath.

"…Yeah." He grumbled, bearing in mind the other ways his friend had already tormented him for wearing anything that was his. "I can't wait to get out of these though." He plucked at the shirt, wrinkling the collar.

"Well it's better than your orange and banana-"

"_No_. Not really," he interjected, frowning. "So, did you burn my clothes yet or what?"

"I'd never do that." She grimaced, eyes darting to meet his gaze. Naruto stared back, unconvinced. Soon enough, a smile played upon her lips, "You have too many clothes for me to bother even blowing them up--…Anyway, it's not like I didn't put them to waste, I use them--mainly for wash clothes, you know?"

"Oh yeah!" His face lit up followed by a grin. "That's just what I'd wanted. Using my clothes to clean kitchen stains, how _nice_."

Ino giggled, reaching her arm out to give him a playful slap on the chest. But before her recoil, Naruto grasped her wrist, bare and exposed, yanking her so quickly that Ino could only yelp in surprise.

"You should have seen that coming," Naruto spoke in an unintentional whisper.

He was met with a smile so radiant, a gentle hue of cerulean. In his daze, he could not resist, and returned her beautiful smile with a lighthearted smirk of his own.

After a second or two, Ino stepped back and suddenly flashed him a grin far from malicious. Naruto cocked an eyebrow with a curious expression on his handsome features, but before he could ask, she spoke. "I guess you shoulda seen that as well." She shrugged. Naruto winced, peering below his shirt to see a kunai pushed against his skin, fortunately, with not enough force to pierce through. The little maneuver that she pulled left a wide rip at the hem of Sasuke's shirt.

Instead of showing any shock, he exhaled sharply, "I was distracted by a pretty face," he said in a tone that underlined fact, and he watched her cheeks flush.

There was another moment of silence as Ino kept her gaze towards the ground, and Naruto could not find himself to look away. He scratched at his chin, hoping to find a way to speak but found himself speechless.

She reached for his shirt, giving it a few tugs before letting go. "You're a real goofy one," she turned away for a second before she met his gaze again. She held her mouth ajar, her words caught in her throat.

"You think that I love Sakura, don't you?" Naruto grimaced, wishing he could just take away her teary stare.

"….I think you're better off with her."

"I think you're lying."

"It sure doesn't seem like a lie!" Ino suddenly cried out, rage deeply embedded. She held out her hand, fingers entwined with cloth. "Here, take it--"

"Well I don't love Sakura! I wouldn't be feeling so guilty for the past month if I did!" He too shouted, his words echoing before them.

She shuddered at the sound of his voice, but did not hesitate to reply, "What are you trying to tell me?"

Although the moment did not call for it, he could not help but smile. There, standing before him, was Ino. Her bright blue eyes were clouded with tears, emitting such a beautiful sadness that he could not help but admire it. He shoved his hands into his empty pockets and leaned forward. He then proceeded to brush his lips against her cheek in a soft, gentle kiss.

He pulled away. "Nothing and everything."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"Perhaps," Naruto mused, nodding a bit. Slowly he turned, in profile, away from Ino. He appeared to be looking over at the otherwise empty street. From left to right not a soul stood or wandered, which was typical on a snowy day. "Okay, the coast is clear, let's go." He seized her hand, swiftly but softly, giving it a small squeeze.

"What are you doing!" Ino cried out, trying to pull away, she loosened her grip on the kunai. Her weapon of choice dropped onto the snow, vanishing under the flurries.

"Don't get so flustered, I'm trying to do something nice." He dragged her a couple of steps forward. Ino followed, afraid to have herself pulled over, onto the snow covered ground.

"Nice--? I'm supposed to be mad at you!"

"Alright, fine. I'm _sorry_. Now, can I just take you out to eat?"

"What?" She asked, her voice an octave higher, but she allowed herself to be taken. "Are you kidding?"

"Blah, blah, blah, for a broad, all you do is nag."

"Excuse me?!" Ino screamed, but her cries went unheard. They became muffled by the sounds of chimes dancing above her head. Hastily, she was pulled through the open door, a gust of heated air brushing against her cheeks, leaving her quite flushed. Her boots clacked against the wood floors as she allowed herself to be led through the narrow hallway.

What awaited them both was a partially empty restaurant, where people chatted casually and others ate patiently. Ino sighed, feeling quite defeated in her effort to appear irritated. She sat herself upon an open booth, pulling at her jacket zipper. "You're still hungry? You just finished eating three whole bowls of Ramen soup!"

"Oh, so you were stalking me?"

"I was not!" She cried out, rouge tinting underneath her eyes. It was so easy to get her riled up.

Naruto chuckled to himself, taking the menu in his hands. "I just hope you don't go cheap on me and order a stupid salad."

"Fine." Ino rolled her eyes, snatching the menu from him. She stuck her tongue out and whispered the names of the foods to herself.

It was not a fancy place, this runaway restaurant, but it held substantial warmth considering the dim lamps that added a personal setting towards the place.

There came an unrepentant calm, afterwards. Ino fixed her eyes upon the text, so focused her vision became blurry. It didn't settle for long, however, because suddenly she felt ridiculous.

"_Ino, even though we fought for most of our childhood,"_ so easily had her words slithered into her conscious, it was quite irritating, "_You were always my closest friend."_

Probably impulse, but Ino quickly slammed her fist, finding the table to tremble along with her touch, as if to disregard Sakura's silly remark. Certainly, that wasn't true, was it?

"I don't want to do this." She bit at the inside of her cheek. Aggravated and distressed all the same. "…over and over…"

Before she could heed his words, she found herself leaving as her fists clenched tightly. Her eyes narrowed and she slung her arms to her sides. She heard mumbles of protests, underneath her blaring anger, yet tossed it to the side.

'Who cares?' she thought. She just needed to get out. Sakura suddenly became such a burden, such a disaster. Her promise was outrageous and she was crazy for thinking she could ever win.

'What a silly promise.'

--- ---- ---

Ino rushed passed the morning crowd, pushing through them before apologizing afterwards. When she crashed into her sensei, she managed to mouth an apology to Asuma, who appeared to have wanted to speak to her. Of course, she was rushing, which was never natural for her, in this light of the morning. She sprinted up a flight of stairs, trying her best to dodge the unfortunate Genma who carried masses of paperwork by Tsunade-sama's request. She simply waved, biting a chuckle when she caught sight of Genma's frustration, before continuing in her hurry.

She was able to calm herself once she reached the last stair, but not enough to keep the jitters from dancing in her stomach. 'Finally, finally, finally!' she thought, stopping to catch her breath. 'A mission, a regular B rank mission, but still, a mission!'

This morning she was surprised by a letter from Tsunade, and what a wonderful surprise it was! 'Only one step more,' she thought, and she'd finally have a mission of her own.

Yet, before her fingernails ever had the chance to graze the cold handle, the door briskly swung open, revealing a partly bored Sakura, who fiddled with ample amounts of paperwork.

Ino fought the nasty squirms that swirled inside and smiled. Sakura was much to occupied with reading a scroll aloud to herself to make any effort for a greeting.

A little relieved, Ino allowed herself to step into the room. She grinned widely, nodding towards Tsunade who happened to be amid a conversation herself. Tsunade's eyes trailed to meet Ino as she smiled and extended her arm, motioning her to come closer.

Then, as she stepped away from the door frame, her eyes caught sight of the blonde to her right. She almost sighed, but held back of course, in fear of ruining any first impressions to her Hokage.

'Always happens to me, this sort of bullshit…' she thought to herself angrily, so clouded in her ranting, she could not recall Sakura, until the medical-nin intentionally bumped into her. Wordlessly her friend only smiled sweetly, winking as she strolled past her and out of the room.

'Oh great, I forgot about my priceless advice...'

"Miss Yamanaka?" Tsunade arched an eyebrow, quite confused herself. Ino laughed nervously, quickly scurrying into her seat, so caught up in her anxiety that she practically crashed into Naruto's chair, who promptly held out his hand to grab her from falling.

Ino would've protested, she wished she should had, but by the way her luck was pulling through, she felt silence was the best way to handle the situation. Instead of doing any of her latter wishes, she stood still with Naruto's arm locked around her mid section, keeping her from falling. She turned to meet Tsunade, who only stared back with complete amusement.

"Well…that was quite an entrance, Yamanaka." Tsunade brought her palm towards her mouth, chuckling a bit.

"Yeah Ino," Naruto laughed, understanding the safe zone he was in at the time and taking advantage of it.

"Shut up," she mumbled into his ear, before pulling from his grasp and seating herself onto the chair besides him.

Too bad Ino wouldn't let herself listen to Tsunade; she forced herself to stare at the floor and proceeded to criticize herself, 'Stupid, stupid, stupid, I'm so _stupid_.'

Only a few flurries of words passed her by, in which she never put much thought into it.

"…Mission to…Ino and…accompany him…take days…be careful…Tako."

"Tako?" Ino widened her eyes as her ears picked up the sound of an unfamiliar name. She turned towards Naruto, her face squirming. He would have been laughing too, except the look on his face held neither laughter nor content. It was a dark scowl.

And before she could ask Tsunade-sama who the heck Tako was, she found her palm to be taken by the hand of _not_ Naruto, but what appeared to be someone she'd never met before.

Ino held onto her blank expression, too mixed up herself to keep from pulling away. The teenager, she guessed was Tako, only kissed her palm gently, his auburn bangs covering a portion of his face.

'…What the--?!' She blushed quickly, her teeth clenching.

"Okay!" Naruto exasperated, pushing his hand against Ino's, breaking the contact between she and the stranger. His angry cry echoed against the stone walls, leaving Ino a bit surprised herself.

The one named Tako laughed quietly as he nodded in Ino's direction.

Ino found herself gaping at the fellow in front of her, "…So Ino, are you up for it?" Tsunade's voice interrupted her brief staring contest. She tensed as she finally faced Tsunade, who was always intolerant of ignorance.

"—uh, sure, sure…" She laughed, waving her hand nervously. "…What exactly was this mission again?"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes and Ino sunk a few inches into her chair, recognizing that motherly glare.


	15. Some kinda mission

Naruto took one look at the cluster of clouds staring right back at him, and dared the colorless fluffs to incite him. He narrowed his eyes, a bit blinded by the pallid hues of white. _Cloudy_, he thought _a whole bunch of clouds and not enough sun._ His curious eyes wandered towards the trail of woods ahead of him, at the endless miles of vegetation. "Too many damn trees," he muttered, shifting his gaze back towards the sky. Yet, his moment of random observations were interrupted, when the whisper of a low murmur tickled his ear,

"Pretty nice outside, isn't it?" Tako finally spoke. Naruto practically felt himself tremble at the sudden tone of voice, at the slightly playful manner in which he said it. Instead of a noisy reaction, as Naruto was so notorious for, he allowed the resonance of wild life to return. He turned to meet a pair of blazing auburn eyes, with a matching radiant smile.

"Um…" he arched an eyebrow, attempting to look as clueless as he could. As much as he tried, Tako appeared unconvinced as the smile ceased to have left him. In fact, he looked a bit more excited than before. "…What?"

"Ah, I just didn't want to get off to a wrong start, you know." Tako nodded, his bangs bouncing along with his enthusiasm. There was another moment of silence, which Naruto found somewhere between eerie and awkward. He couldn't help but notice that the oblivious Ino was walking in front of the pair, preoccupied with who-knows-what. "I didn't think about it until, now but my actions were quite ridiculous." Tako laughed with a wave of his hand as if to brush off his own worries. When he finally did turn back towards Naruto he was only given a blank stare, to which he was somewhat accustomed to with this blonde teenager, since the moment they have met- which wasn't very long ago. "D-I...I mean, it was rude, I didn't mean to make any assumptions upon your girlfriend." He pointed in front, with his index finger. A sort of grin plastered his features, as if he were trying to tease him.

For a second, Tako held his breath, allowing for any tensions to ease off. He was a bit of a mischievous fellow, but was always a bit weary of crossing the line, which he was a bit infamous for, in fact. He watched as the slight flush settled into Naruto's cheeks, all wide eyed and astonished.

"S-she isn't." Naruto quickly stammered, grinding his teeth as an afterthought to his embarrassment. Above all else, he couldn't control _that_ impulse, which was beginning to be quite annoying.

"I don't know, you seem to have pretty strong feelings for her." A bit surprised himself, Tako glanced up to check if Ino overheard them at all, to which as far as he could tell, she did not.

"I don't. Not at all. We're just friends." Naruto tried his best to force a fake, choppy, chuckle- anything to convince this guy. Whatever it was, perhaps it was his nerves, but at that moment in time, his pride seemed to have overcome him and he wanted to keep that intact.

"I think that she knows," Tako snorted, amused by his attempts to remain sober.

"Knows what?"

"…" The boy only shook his head, his grin widening. "I don't have to tell you the story of the birds and the bees, do I? I thought you were much smarter than that,"

"…" Naruto could only smile in return. A bit witty himself, one could only nod off at another's clever

remarks.

"Alright then." Tako laughed, slapping his new found friend on his back. The gesture seemed to have loosened the tension between them as Naruto let out his own laugh. Even though he had never met the guy before, he was already starting to like him. Oddly enough.

Yet another instant of silence passed between them, but this time less discomforted. Naruto hesitated a second, awaiting to ask Tako of his past before the boy spoke up for him, and stated-ever so friendly,

"So then, it's a challenge." He smirked, bringing up his fist into a thumbs-up gesture.

A bit confused, once more, Naruto asked, "What's a challenge?"

With which Tako then replied, "What do you think?" and winked before he quickly jogged in front of Naruto, a few paces ahead of him as he made his way towards Ino.

Naruto could only pause, allowing his fingers to brush against his small blonde hairs. He smiled, admitting defeat for this small round, though he would not have confessed it at first; he guessed Tako sharper than he cared to give him credit for. Finally, he exhaled briefly, partly amused by the idea of someone besides he attempting to woo Ino, only because it was such a hard if not bold task to accomplish. "Good luck." He chuckled a bit, kicking at the dirt below him. He watched as the broken pieces of dust and stones scrambled into the air, fogging his view momentarily.

If only for a moment, when the small particles of dust wavered on, he caught a glimpse of Ino glancing back at him before she quickly turned away. There was something in the way she looked at him, but he could not tell exactly what. He held his breath, hoping to have kept himself from smiling. Yet, before he could acknowledge it, he felt the ends of his lips tucking in a half hearted grin.

As much as he enjoyed viewing the scenery, as green toned as it was, he was beginning to get bored; being accustomed to so many A-rank missions himself, escorting this fellow was like walking a child down the block—quite uneventful. Not to mention, in this ordinary trip of his, it only meant extended agonizing hours. He endured it as much as he could, keeping to himself and towards his imagination, where his eyes lingered between the animal shapes in the sky or taking a small glance at the pair in front of him, not that he was worried, _of course_.

It wasn't until his stomach began to cry for help when he couldn't stand the dead silence any longer. "Hungry…" he spoke weakly, rubbing at his abdomen. The pair in front of him continued to speak mindless gibberish which he didn't want to try and comprehend. When he figured that his feeble statement went unnoticed, he grew a bit irritated, this time speaking a tone much louder than before, "I'm starving!" Naruto complained, biting onto his lower lip as he felt his nerves begin to tense.

"Uggh, we're not even halfway yet, Naruto. Can't you wait?" Ino frowned, turning to send him an angry glare. He ignored her, doubling over as if he were in pain.

"Oh great leader, I cannot wait any longer," he moaned dramatically, "for my stomach is about to implode on itself."

"It is getting quite late," Tako mumbled, lifting his head towards the sky. "The sky has turned pink. Perhaps we should stay here-"

"Yeah, exactly! Ino, don't be so heartless."

Ino shook her head, pulling the backpack off of her shoulders, setting it down on the ground. "Naruto, I don't think you get it, but I'm trying to make a good impression on my first mission in a long, _long_ time." Ino had hoped to leave Naruto feeling a bit guilty, but when she looked at him for any sort of reply he responded with the usual smile of his yet with an unusual response.

"Thank you," he nodded, pulling off his own backpack.

She quickly turned her back on both Naruto and _that other guy_ whose name she already forgot. Kneeling down to grab at her unopened cans of food she growled and began to mumble to himself, "I don't get where he's going with this cutesy, polite, Mr. Nice Guy act. It's not working."

A cool breeze settled into the once heat ridden woods, the slightly pinkish hues of the skies now enveloped by the blanket of twilight, hovering over the three as they ate. The meal would have been eaten in silence if not for Tako's odd approach for telling them of some sort of terrifying urban legend as he ate.

"So, night had fallen and I was in this shed, err, I mean my house when I heard a sound- I mean noise…"

Naruto could only lean back against the log that he sat upon, taken aback by how sociable this guy was

while he had a mouth full of rice. He blinked, his attention stolen away from his precious ramen, towards Tako who only spoke and spoke and spoke. He shifted his gaze to Ino, who also held her mouth ajar and, if even for that slight second, they shared an agreement for the first time that night: Tako was not very good at story telling.

When he finally finished his complicated urban legend turned horror story, Tako had run out of things to say and quickly patting his stomach as he placed his half eaten plate to the side. "That was really good," he mused, pushing himself off the log. Tako lifted his arms, taking a stretch as he shut his eyes tight. "Wow, I didn't expect myself to tire so quickly." He snorted, leaning towards the right so as to pull any and all sorts of tension from his muscles. He turned towards Ino, waving his hand, "Good night, Miss Yamanaka," he said, watching as she continued to assemble the mesh of cloth and metal scraps in which she called a tent.

"Good night, Naruto," Tako murmured as he walked off towards his own area of privacy. Unlike Ino, the boys had decided to sleep in their sleeping bags.

Naruto nodded, before he turned to his own and practically shouted, "Night guys!", and flopped onto his lumpy, old sleeping bag, forgetting that it wasn't a mattress. He moaned from the pain in his jaw after slamming it onto the ground. "Ouch…"

Ino turned back, a bit surprised with his departure. She glanced down at her hands that gripped against the hard tent materials. It was then that she remembered she could not assemble anything for the life of her. Sighing heavily as she slumped against the bundle in her arms, she finally admitted defeat. She figured, even if-well, if there was _nothing_ left he could have at least offered a hand. Naruto knew very well she sucked at putting things together from scratch. Feeling a bit dismayed from her lonely state, she turned behind her, hoping to have seen any sign of existence- at least if he was around, she could have pestered him into building the crazy contraption! Yet, what greeted her were outlines of trees and a void of darkness. Only from the freckles of illumination above her could he depict the smoky ashes of their recent campfire and a slumped figure of a sleeping Tako from afar. "Damn," she mumbled, turning back to her mess at hand.

"You really think I would leave you like that?" Hastily, she turned to find Naruto, down on one knee so as to catch her at eye level. She yelped pushing herself backwards as her arm fell behind her for support. Her palm grinded against ragged pebbles as clumps of dirt settled under her fingernails.

Her eyes widened to an extent where Naruto himself could depict the shape of the moon in her pale azure orbs. Laughter filled her abyss of fear as she swiftly rubbed her cheeks, cursing herself for ever demonstrating her vulnerability so easily.

"Are you blushing, Ino?" he asked, his voice low and rough. There was a smile in his words.

"What are you doing awake?" Ino growled, baring her teeth in her irritated manner. "We have plenty to

do tomorrow-"

"Exactly, so when are you going to sleep, Ino?"

"When I get this damn tent up."

"Ino…" Naruto rolled his eyes, plopping himself onto the dirt ground. He crossed his arms, shaking his head. "Why'd you bring so much junk? All you need is a sleeping bag."

"Are you going to help me, or are you going to bother me?" Irritated, Ino scrunched her mouth to the side.

"Oh sure, I can help you," he stated, rather happily. He reached his hand into her pile of mesh, pulling out a latent poofy sleeping bag. He shoved the sleeping bag into the air, dropping it in front of him. Once spread, he patted the sides, unfastening the zipper before patting the far ends of her nap sack. "Done!"

"That's not what I need help in, you idiot, I need you to put the tent up!"

"You don't need the tent, Ino, you need to look at the stars when you're outdoors," Naruto stated matter-

a-factly, turning back to send a smirk in her direction.

Ino sighed, dumping the junk in her arms behind her. "I guess you're right," she agreed, crawling a few inches ahead, allowing her legs to slip into the parted folds of the nap sack. The crinkles and shuffling of her legs cut off any opportunity of silence.

Once the echoes of her sleeping bag ceased, Naruto felt himself grow uneasy. The sudden peace that settled into the air was a bit troubling and for the first time his mind went blank on any sort of approach of conversation. It was times like these where he felt his much practiced charm dwindle and his sophisticated teasing depart swiftly, so as to leave him uncertain of his own allure. He bit his lip, taking in a gulp of cool night air as he searched for something to say. Instead, he could only turn towards Ino, moving his mouth as to say something remotely intriguing yet nothing but a few puffs of air left him.

He could not help but feel captivated in the way she held her blank expression. His attempts at speaking left him, he continued to allow himself to be drawn by the radiant cerulean hue of her eyes.

Ino bowed her head, so as to break the magnetism that was pulling at her so. Her bangs covered a portion of her eyes as she proceeded to stare at her soil stained palms.

Naruto, sensing her discomfort, felt that this was the time to leave. He fought against the urge to touch her jaw, deciding instead to lift himself off the ground. But as he arose from his feet, Ino seized a hold of his pant leg, quickly tugging it so as to leave him falling over. He yelped, completely shocked by the move, tripping over her bent legs, falling forward. His midsection fell onto the nap sack but the rest of him wasn't so lucky. After a grunt or so, he paused for a moment before whispering a weak, "Ouch."

"Are you okay, Naruto? I'm sorry!" He pushed himself off the ground, spitting out the broken pieces of wood that were jammed into his mouth. Before he could stand up, or give any sort of reassurance, Ino grasped his arm, pulling him as close to him as she could with one tug. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" she apologized, her hands grazing against his cheek, brushing away the small pieces of dirty and pebbles.

"No, it's okay." He spoke over her apologetic gibberish, smiling at her worried tone of voice. "I'm alright."

"I was stupid. I should have thought before I did that, I always do stuff like that. I didn't mean to do that."

Naruto grabbed a hold of her jittering hands, giving them a little squeeze. "Ino, it's okay. I'm alive." He chuckled, the small joke passing her by.

"I know." A small blush settled onto her cheeks. In the proceeding silence, Ino found her eyes wander onto her hands, still linked and laced with Naruto's. For once, she did not protest, instead deciding to allow the atmosphere to settle into tweets and twitters of the night animals.

Somewhere in her conscious, where her darkest notions lie stood a voice.

"I just wonder…" Naruto inhaled deeply, hoping to have read the thoughts in her eyes. The bright hues in her eyes suddenly turned dull and dry. She sat onto the chilly ground, her expression full of misery. He then bit his lip, curious for words when he was at a loss. Oddly enough, her once warm hands were becoming a bit cold in his grasp. The noises of their environment echoed into his ear, deafening him if only for a moment."You probably don't care what I have to say."

As much as she tried to avoid it, it yelled and shouted in its harsh whispers. The voice left a guilty etching as well as a sour feeling in her gut. She grimaced, knowing that if she did not comply, she would only be the one to blame.

The voice grew an octave louder.

He searched eagerly for that spark, for the smile in her eyes, for any sign of laughter and euphoria. Instead, what he received was awkward silence and a woman who appeared so desperate in her stance that he could not help but break that contact with their hands, bringing her chilly form close to his own cold body. At the very least, she complied, however silently, as her arms went limp and fell at their sides.

"Ino, I know I'm no good at these things but that doesn't mean you have to go lifeless on me," he whispered, hearing her half hearted laughter somewhat left him a bit relieved.

"I hate this thing, it's so damn bright. If that guy were dangerous in this mission, anyone could have caught you in this bright get-up, ya know?" she said, pushing him away. Her voice was a bit muffled, her mouth partly covered by his oversized infamous orange jacket.

She watched him smile pleasantly as he bowed his head. He snorted, amused by her comment.

And then, something slightly amazing happened. The voice that pressured against her temples, its impressions that once strained, passed. Ino felt herself relax, her muscles unwind and her shoulders loosen up. It was impulsive. A dangerously liberating aura that lifted and both shifted her. She blinked, hesitating for a moment before she let out a giggle. Her laughter echoed against the peaceful, inactive atmosphere.

Naruto stared at her, a bit stunned by her spontaneous behavior.

She glared right back, watching that dopey, confused expression plague him. Instead of criticizing him, on his disorderly appearance in this dark night, she allowed her giddiness to follow. A fluttery sensation left her smiling rather goofy herself and for this once, she did not shy away. "Hey…" She grabbed onto the collar of his jacket, scrunching the material deep into her fist. She yanked him closer, ignoring his sudden yelps. "I care about you more than you think."

He arched an eyebrow, defensive in his own manner. "Is that so?" He sounded unconvinced, his sarcasm filtering the air, yet his flushed expression said otherwise. The warmth of her breath softly touched his lips and Ino could only compel herself to continue staring.

His response left her aggravated though, and her anger unexpectedly rose. However, instead of screaming, which she felt the immediate desire to; she pushed her fury aside and decided to demonstrate her feelings.

She yanked once more on his collar, possibly the worst thing to _do_ at the moment, but she allowed her free hand to hold onto the back of his head as she forced him into a heavy kiss. Their lips melded together in an abrupt fashion. Quick and sudden, she poured out those once spiteful feelings into him, hoping that he would only catch on before her senses came to her. Naruto instinctively reached for her jaw, his thumb and index finger held at both sides as he too quickly involved himself. He was a bit taken aback by Ino's insistence to lead for the moment as she pushed his hand away. He felt himself being pushed forward as he had to bury the palm of hand into the soggy dirt.

"What the?!"

Ino shoved him away, taking a deep gasp for air, a blush etched onto her cheeks as she grit her teeth at

him. She rose to her feet, reaching over to her sleeping bag, her hand probing for some sort of object. Naruto skimmed his teeth over his swollen bottom lip, tasting a drop of blood.

"I'm going to bed, good night." She appeared to have given up on her search, shrugging it off as she walked away from the nap sack. She passed him, stepping rather slowly to the other side, where his own empty sleeping bag lay. He blinked, thumbing his lip, and then smearing his own blood on that digit.

"Wait," he whispered, to no one but himself. "Wait, Ino." He mouth squirmed, questioning that lively, fizzy sense that churned where he once thought he was starving. Realizing that Ino hadn't heard him, Naruto hung his head, sighing heavily. The words he so desperately wanted to say had now left him completely.

Naruto grumbled, feeling himself wriggle into that soft, clean sleeping bag. Before he too could glare back at the starry sky, to possibly reflect on the lunacy that just happened he felt the daunting sensation of sleep knock a powerful blow to his conscious. He sighed, feeling a sharp, jagged object jab at his leg. His arm reached for the item, feeling irritated by the anonymous jabbing and poking. Thinking it was some sort of scroll, he mindlessly threw it behind him, settling himself into the pillow. Yet, as much as he wanted to enjoy any sign of sleep, that quickly vanished with the resonance of a deep thud.

He rolled himself in the bag, propping himself on his elbows. "What is that?" he asked himself, watching the open book on the ground with honest interest. It was apparently opened on it's half, where a golden ribbon separated the pages in the middle. He cocked an eyebrow, stretching his arm as his fingers stroked the soft pages. Not before long, he lifted the book from the ground, brushing the dirt clumps from its edges. "Don't tell me, this is…" Suddenly, his eyes twinkled with conniving curiosity as he could not help but skim through the words, the slightly slanted and curved letters that decorated the pallid paper.

_Shikamaru is a lazy idiot, I swear. He wouldn't get up this morning and I had to scare him in order to get his lazy ass off the bed._

Naruto rolled his eyes, he couldn't help but agree with Ino on that notion; he knew Shikamaru was helping her with her training and that thought hasn't surprised him at all. Missions with Shikamaru were always one sided, the only thing that guy was good for was his ingenious plans.

What came next was a laundry list of unintelligible activities. "Is this even a diary?" Naruto scratched his head; there were plenty of recollections—of crap. Nothing good, nothing scandalous, nothing that left him filled with satisfaction. He sighed, prepared to hurl the useless journal over at Ino.

_I need to remember about this ridiculous mission in a few days. I don't really know what it is, but hey at least I got an offer, right?_

The next wasn't even partially interesting.

_I had to bandage a bruise this morning. Customers were bugging me all day about flowers. Dinner was pretty bland for my second attempt, heh. What a boring day._

He sucked his teeth, completely disappointed by her lack of creativity. "Ino, I swear your life isn't this dull, you suck as a writer," he commented, and prepared to shut the book and call it a night. Yet, as he grabbed the front hardcover of the book, pushing the ends together, a single word left him speechless.

_Secret_

It was small, almost illegible letters by his thumb that left him intrigued. He split the book open once more, his thumbs pressing against the pages from his rush of excitement.

_I know__ I usually choose not to write such things on pieces of paper. But I need therapy, I've heard writing down your setbacks can help, right? I don't know, really. My secret isn't anything to be excited about, I wish I had something more interesting- Or, at least much more pleasant to write._

_I hate this._

_I'm a liar and I know it._

There was an empty page that followed. And for that moment, he felt remorseful for reading those lines. As he turned to the next page he was welcomed with a filled sheet of scribbles. He couldn't bring himself to look away from the book, as the words practically taunted him.

_Sakura and I…_ Unfortunately, as much as those words enticed him, the rest of that lingering thought was left unfinished as what followed were the shredded leftovers of a torn page. He continued to read attentively. _I promised it because I didn't know what else to do. Besides, he doesn't care anymore, right? Sakura and Naruto were meant to be. I was just a pawn._

There, in front of him lay a recollection of something he played a part of without much acknowledgement. A swear, written in those cursive words. He sighed, feeling a pang of fault twinge in the midst of his abdomen. He had to skim through that word a few times, as difficult as it was, _pawn_ left him wide awake and wondering.

---

A/N: I am still alive.


	16. Special Lady

A/N: Not Beta-ed, he took too damn long. Sorry for all the mistakes, sorry for being such a procrastinator. Feel free to beta it if you like! Sorry I suck at endings too...Allow me to apologize for my very existence!

"Hey…" Tako whispered down at the sleeping face below him. It was his third attempt at awaking the Konoha-nin and he had about enough. Although he was always taught on being civil, there was always an exception for these kinds of situations. "Che-Naruto? Get up!" he cried out, feeling his irritation swell. He grabbed at Naruto's cheek, tugging at it for good measure. "Listen you loaf of dead weight, get up!"

Still, that was not sufficient enough to arouse the teenager. The boy tapped at his chin, quickly running out of ideas. He just could not understand how the latter couldn't hear his round of bellows; Tako guessed he was probably tone deaf. And at that thought, he chuckled to himself, amused by his own joke. Still, he had grown to like this fellow.

"I could have been dead by now and I have these two to thank." he remarked with a snort.

He observed the look of peace on Naruto's face, a bit taken aback by how calm he had appeared. With that in mind, he grinned as he reached for the dirt floor. A malicious wish came to mind and he intended to fulfill it. His palm clamped as the mass of pebbles as his grin grew wider. What an idea, he thought as he lifted his hand, prepared to throw a few pebbles at Naruto's face. Before he could've reached the blonde boy's face, an arm quickly grasped Tako's wrist as he emptied his hand, leaving Tako a bit surprised himself.

"Nice try." Naruto groaned, lifting his eyes. Tako quickly replaced his shocked face with a smile.

"Well, g'morning there, sunshine!" Tako greeted him, making sure to dazzle him with a cheesy smile.

"What the heck are you doing here?"

"I ask myself that question too, sometimes."

Naruto lifted himself in a sitting position, his first instinct was to drastically wipe at his lips. "What did you try to kiss me?! You're crazy!!"

"Riiight." he rolled his eyes, running his hands through his brown hair. "Waking you up was a hard task to do."

"What are you talking about? I was awake the whole time!"

"Really? I find that hard to believe." Tako scoffed, before replying, "What an act! You sound like a dying cat when you're asleep-or when you're _pretending_."

"…so what did you really wake me up for? Verbal abuse? I get enough of it from her." Naruto nudged his head to the side, towards the direction of the sleeping Ino.

Tako laughed, jabbing his index finger onto Naruto's chest, "You're funny." He smiled. After waiting a few silent seconds, he then added, "you two make quite the couple."

"Is that a compliment?"

"…Yes!" Tako snorted, shaking his head side to side. He then slapped Naruto's back, watching as the young man yelped in sudden pain. "This is goodbye, my friend."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I don't know quite how else to put it." Tako shrugged. "But-uh…well I know my way back to my village from here. It was nice having company, though."

"…What do you think, you're leaving? You can't!"

"Why not? I paid for the escorts; I can fire you guys if I want to." Although his words were a bit condescending, that euphoric smile continued to radiate a sort of ecstatic optimism. Naruto could not quite put his finger on it, so he guessed that the teenager just plain weird. Weird, he thought that had to be it.

"…Are you serious?"

"Very." Tako nodded, offering his hand to Naruto, only to have the latter stare at it.

"I don't get it."

"Let me tell you something, Naruto. I'm not as dim-witted as I look and as far as my foolishness goes, most of _that _was an act. In any case, I decided to cut this little bet off short-mostly, I miss home." before he could have asked, Naruto remembered that semi-challenge he had the night before. "Not to mention, Ino is a bit crazy herself. You two belong together."

"I mean that, I can see it. She's a bit impulsive, but I recognize fondness when I see it."

"What do you mean?"

"Naruto, when are you going to tell her that you love her?"

Naruto simply gulped, he felt accumulated saliva ride painfully down his throat. That was enough of a response to satisfy Tako. Instead of facing silence, Tako only grabbed the young man's hand for a good shake before he stood up.

"Farewell. Look me up if you ever come to the land of the rice fields." finally, Tako turned his back towards Naruto, waving his hand as he walked into the opening path of woods ahead of him.

Naruto would have thought to have stopped him, but he guessed it probably was not the right thing to do. His gut told him otherwise. Besides, Tako has just left him the perfect opportunity; he would only let him down by messing it up. As he watched the strange teenager fade away into the mass of green ahead, Naruto simply smiled, silently thanking him.

Tako was probably the only push left, but in what direction he did not quite know.

--------- ------

Ino felt the rays of sunlight pinch her face, shoving her away from her vacant dreams and into a chilly awakening. Soft winds breathed down her neck, causing her to nudge away from the cool air. This was not a very relaxing way to get up in the morning, but Ino was unfortunate to break from her forgetful dream, feeling the sudden draft of cold morning air rush past her. She groaned rather loudly, wincing from the light that pierces her eyes. "It's so early…" her voice cracked from lack of moisture.

Instead of taking the waking period in stride, she felt the best way to cope was to break through it. And so, Ino pushed passed that sleepy enigma that wanted ever so to settle within her. She yawned, pushing herself into a standing position. Her torso shivered, wanting to feel the blanket's warmth, or remains of warmth.

She shielded her eyes from the blinding sun, turning to take a fleeting glance towards her left, at the grounds of fallen twigs and leaves. Ino expected what should have been the quite obvious sleeping Tako also settled in his own sleeping accord, yet what welcomed her was an empty mass of flat grass.

"What?" she whispered fiercely, feeling the sudden pang of fear squirm within her insides. Before she could even turn to scream her reaction was interrupted by the sight of Naruto kneeling beside her. "The hell-?!" she cried out, equally angry as she was frightened. She shoved his arm away, propelling herself backwards as she slide a few feet from him.

"What is _wrong_ with you?!" she wiped at her eyes, baring her teeth at him.

"Can't I just say good morning?" he grinned, shaking his head. An amused expression played upon his features as he offered his hand to the girl in front of him.

"No." she brushed herself off, pulling herself forward as she stood up; she flicked at the portions of dirt and twigs that clung to her legs. "You're too sneaky for your own good." she mumbled under her breath.

"Yeah." Naruto lamented sarcastically, heaving an exaggerated sigh.

It was not long before realization sunk in deep, "Naruto!" She cried out, those feelings of panic returning quicker than they had once left. "That guy--?! Where is he?!"

"He left." Naruto shrugged as he stood up. "I actually saw him leave!" he chuckled, pivoting his body in other direction. "There, I think. It was a while ago, gee he was pretty nice if I say so myself."

"…" Ino could only blink for a few moments in her frightened silence. Her fear settled in a hasty matter, only to allow room for her untamed anger. "I can't believe…" she shook her head, dumbfounded for words. "…You just let him go? Why didn't you WAKE me UP?"

"He wanted to go by himself, what the heck was I supposed to do?-"

"You could have NOT let him go by himself! The whole point was for BOTH of US to take him back to his village!"

"Nah—he's old enough to roam on his own," Naruto laughed once more, "C-mon, that only makes our job easier. Now it's just you and me, back to Konoha."

He held his palm behind his disarray of blonde locks, a look of sweet innocence practically plastered on his face. There was some sort of silence between them for a moment as Naruto could only help but grin. He watched as Ino balled her palms into fists, she shut her eyes as she attempted to calm herself down.

"Anything wrong there, Ino?"

"Everything." She shot back. "This is exactly what I mean!"

"What?" he asked, a bit confused by her response.

"I can't do this anymore, Naruto! In Konoha I'm only going to get scolded by Tsuanda-sama for not going with him! What if he gets killed? Obviously there were people who wanted to hurt him, or else why would he waste his time and money on being escorted?!" she growled, throwing her hands up in the air. "I can't believe you, I try so damn hard, ya know, even going as far as taking this ridiculous mission because I want to be taken seriously!"

"I'm still a chunnin here, Naruto. Just because you and everyone else were able to be Jounins before you guys even aged into goddamn adults doesn't mean you can just do things like this!" she kicked at the pebbles of rocks, muttering a few curses here and there as she continued with her rant. "Shit, what the hell was the whole point of wasting all my time getting my assed kicked by freaking Shikamaru…" she sighed, suddenly forcing herself to fall on her rear end. Small recollections of training with Shikamaru had passed her, that look of iconic laziness that Shika sports then plagued her mind entirely. This time, her voice lowered into a mere whisper, "I just wanted to show Sakura—everyone, that I was still in the fight." she frowned, pausing for a round of self remorse.

"Ino, quit beating on yourself like that."

"That's easy for you to say,"

"You'll have a thousand missions waiting back home for you."

"Naruto, you don't get it. This was a mission for them to keep me quiet; I've been pining for one for months. I'd always bother Tsunade about it, and as far as she's concerned, she thinks this is as much as I'm capable of." Ino wrung her hands together, the palms of her hands reddening from the pressure.

"Yeah right, Ino." Naruto inhaled deeply. He sat onto the soggy dirt filled with morning dew. Seating himself next to her, he scratched at his scalp for a second before he responded, "I practically begged Tsunade to give you this mission." The comment made her cringe.

"Yeah, because she probably wanted to give me some low-class kiddy task, am I right?"

"--" Naruto attempted to explain himself but was interrupted.

"Jeez—you didn't have to help my sorry ass. I suck, I know." she laughed, patting his arm. "What did you say to her? 'Give Ino something more than finding that kooky cat'?"

"She wanted to give you an A-rank, Ino."

"…" Ino let her mouth hang for a second, taking a moment to grasp that last sentence. The idea of getting an a-rank was incomprehensible, so she chose instead to abide with her initial thoughts. "Oh so I got stuck with this because…Because there was no room for me in A-rank territory."

"Ino, she wanted to put you in an A-rank mission with Shikamaru. That's the truth; you were supposed to surveillance some village we didn't have much of an alliance with. It was supposed to be different, something I know you are capable of."

"What the hell are you talking about?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Tsunade thought it was the perfect team, Shikamaru, Chouji and you. Like old times…"

"How the hell do you know?"

"Don't ask me how I know." Another huff of warm air left him, a puff of condensation filtering the clear atmosphere. "I told her not to do it, I was supposed to accompany some new Chuunin into this stupid mission but I suggested you."

"You're telling me…" Ino lifted herself once more, "I could have been somewhere else, basking in at least some sort of satisfaction for having to be involved in something slightly important, instead of being here? I could have been doing-what was it that you said? _Surveillance_?-I could have been doing an A-rank?!"

Instead of speaking, Naruto nodded, flinching at the thought of the many punches he was about to receive. What came next was no act of violence; instead Ino leaned to the side to pick up her belongings sprawled on the floor. "I'm going home." she simply stated, her words empty and vacant. Her reaction was unnerving.

Easily went the painful squirms, the hot dreadful lines and laces that filled his chest. Guilt left him faintly panting for the cool air, anything to endure the hot coals in the midst of his abdomen. Suddenly the bitter temperature that left his body shaking for warm was not enough to calm him down.

"What an_ impressive_ gift!" Ino cried out, unable to contain the developing rage that left her blood torrid. "Should I thank you now, or later?" She stuffed the remains of what she thought was a tent into a bag, only to find that her careless manner was making it quite difficult for her to pack her things. Impulsively, she yanked the materials out of her backpack, hurling it to the opposite direction. "Hah! This doesn't matter; I don't give a shit about being in the _good ol'_ outdoors! The damn squirrels can house in that damn thing for all I care!" anger was simply too consuming as the thoughtless Ino tossed her backpack aside along with her camping material. "I'm so done! I just want to go fucking home." she stomped on her bag, assuring that the dirt smeared into the cloth material.

Yet, her actions were only slightly satisfying.

"I-I-teh…" she sucked at her teeth, searching endlessly for words that escaped her grasp. "Don't you _dare_ follow me!" was her last remark as she headed towards the direction that she believed was the path back to Konoha.

Naruto watched Ino disappear between the hoard of vegetation that surrounded them. "Too bad she took the wrong way." he rolled his eyes. There was only one option for Naruto, he believed. He reached into his knapsack, bringing that small book close, shoving it in one of his pockets. If it were not for his favorite foolishly baggy pants, he wouldn't have known where to put her diary. With that, he followed Ino's tracts, leaving the rest of his belongings behind.

He shaded his eyes, looking ahead as far as his eyes could go. He guessed by then, considering how effective her anger was, Ino was probably already a mile ahead. It didn't matter anyway, he figured he could tract her quite easily. Because there was one thing about Ino and her absolute rage, it was quite obvious.

While he contemplated that, he laughed, letting the tension out into the air. The hum of bird chirpings proceeded to deafen his moment of silence. His hand ruffled through his hair as he tried to think of a plan. "What am I supposed to do?" he finally asked, peering ahead, at the boundless trail of woods. No one answered him of course; and-well, probably that was the response he was looking for.

He felt the subtle current of air tickle his cheek as it swept passed him. It was faint feeling and if not for his deep concentration, he would not have felt it at all. And to such amazement, it calmed him, that sense of cool air brushing his face. Maybe that was the answer, he thought, and with that in mind he took his first step towards the trail Ino had once taken.

Naruto squinted, glaring at the sky above him. Instead of the feathery puffs of marshmallow-like clouds that awaited him the night before, there lay clouds that appeared to be less than welcoming. The once fairly pleasant November weather was now concealed by the blanket of grey skies above. Before he could quite tell, pitter patters of raindrops plopped on his palm. "Rain?" he murmured, bringing his arm closer for further inspection.

"Wait…" he felt the small hairs in the back of his spine stand erect. "Oh…sh-" he was left interrupted as an unexpected bellow of thunder erupted above him. Naruto ducked, raising his shoulders as the raindrops began pouring on him. The cool water soaked into his clothes, quicker than he could have suspected. In only a matter of minutes while he wandered through the woods, his clothes clung tightly to his torso and limbs. "Shit, and this only makes things harder." Yet, as agitated as he once had felt, the rain was a bit relieving. Even if the dark clouds covered most of the area's visibility, the rain soaked that stress away.

Naruto wiped the rain out of his eyes, peeking through the cracks of his fingers as he thought of what to do next.

The right thing to do, he thought, was to find Ino, no matter how pissed she actually was. He took one last sigh before he started heading deeper into the trails.

Ino pressed the left side of her body against the rough edges of the tree trunk. It was not very snug but she needed a resting point; a break. Walking aimlessly around who-knows-where was not exciting in the least, especially when one was hot-headed with anger. Ino glared at what seemed like endless green to her before she allowed her wobbly knees to cave in. Her legs crashed onto the soggy ground, her clothes were soaking in the puddle of raindrops.

Lost was probably not the word to describe what she was, or at least not her word of preference. Her muddled thinking had left her forgetting whether she was going backwards or forwards. Not that she was admitting it, however. Instead, she allowed the odd rhythms of the rain drop's pitter patters to ease her hot-tempered mood.

"You can come out from hiding now; I'm not going to do anything." Ino shrugged, speaking rather loudly. Her posture remained as she continued to stare indifferently at the area ahead of her. Naruto, from behind, only snorted as a humored smile now plagued him.

He chuckled, ducking as he walked under the tree-not that it was any form of protection, he was already doused in rainwater. Ironically enough, the tree did offer a slight form of protection from the rain but it was belated. Once he was along side Ino, he plopped himself onto the ground taking his time to breath in the fresh time-and enjoyed it.

"Aint it funny…" Naruto leaned backwards, placing his palm behind him, "right at this _very_ moment, you and I are stuck here in this freezing rain all because you dropped a bunch of fruits in front of your house?" He too did not realize the implication of his statement until his words remained lingering in thing air. It was not until he let his words momentarily hang before he found it profoundly….hilarious. And he laughed. His bellows of sweet laughter echoed against the trees, scaring away a few birds that had once inhibited the branches above them. Ino turned, simply to stare at him. Her look was quite blank until she too let out a small giggle. She quickly paused, attempting to catch her nervous laughter as she covered her mouth. Yet, another burst of laughter exploded from her, this time as boisterous and as happy as ever.

"And we're stuck here because of you." he added, now feeling himself at ease. He kicked out his feet, hooking them under his knees Indian style. Despite the fact that his clothes were either drenched with rainwater or had grime engraved into the stitches of his pant legs, he felt far more pleased with himself than he had this entire trip.

Ino arched an eyebrow, "Me? How so? Didn't you admit that this was your GREAT idea?" She sounded much more amused that Naruto had expected. He leaned forward, a smug grin forming on his lips as he thought of a reasonable explanation.

"You let me stay-"

"It was a favor." she blurted out. Realizing the severity behind her words, quickly she added, "You helped me out, how could I not help you in return?"

"You're right." Naruto took hold of hands, bringing them close as he lowered his lips, kissing her palms. His voice lowered down into a whisper. "And, sweetheart, you don't _owe me_ anymore." As quickly as he had a hold of her hands, he had loosened his grip, as her hands slipped from his fingers. "When we get out of here I'll leave you alone, for good, I promise."

Ino widened her stare, glaring at him. There was a serene sadness in the alluring cerulean orbs that was left blinking in her direction before dropping its gaze. Ino bit her lip, a pang of something dreadful seeping inside her, but she did not know quite where. It was painful hearing that potential agreement, that she would never see him again-that it would never be like _this,_ whatever _this_ was. "No, don't do that." she spoke lower that she had expected to; it troubled her to hear just how upset she sounded. This was probably it, she thought, she could not explain what it was, but she just…

"You left this in your bag last night," Naruto shoved his hand into his pocket, fishing for the journal. He pulled the hard covered book out, reaching it over before Ino wordlessly grabbed onto it. "Don't be mad, but I read it."

Ino waited for her anger to spike, merely to find herself feeling the same. She shrugged, flipping through the pages in a vague manner before tossing the book over her shoulder. From behind, raindrops slapped against the once dry pages, leaving the inked words to smear into a tiny blob of black ink. "I'm guessing you're curious at what that page said, right?" she glanced at him, a small smile spreading across her lips.

He stretched his arms, folding them as he held them behind the base of his neck. "…Of course."

"Remember that day with you and Sakura-"

"Ino…-"

"No, no." she reached over to pat his shoulder, her smile broadening. "It's alright; just hear me out, okay?" she watched him sigh in defeat, followed by a nod of agreement. "That was probably both of our faults…I don't know what the hell I was thinking-maybe as a way to just make _sure _I don't have to see you again-I promised Sakura I'd help her get you two together-"

"What?"

"…" she took another pause, biting onto her lip in a nervous manner, "I don't know, I was mad with both of you,"

"Boy, what a punishment," Naruto rolled his eyes.

"She really does like you, Naruto-"

"No." he shook his head from side to side, "I took her out one day, a long _long _time ago. The entire time, I acted like…" he dropped his gaze again; his mouth was left squirming, and said "I acted like Sasuke. I wanted to impress her because I knew she was still infatuated with him." Taking one last moment of silence before he said, "What a stupid idea that was because even though I did kiss her that day…I didn't feel _anything__."_

The rain pounded against the puddles of mud around them, followed by a crack of thunder. Ino widened her eyes, feeling herself tense at the idea of a thunderstorm. She always loved the rain, but never when she was an open target outside any form of shelter. "I'm sorry." she blurted out, staring down at the cluster of wet grass. She began to pluck at it, something to keep from focusing on this awkward moment.

"Why is that?"

"I just felt it was my time to say sorry." a weak smile brightened her face.

"Well then," he exhaled deeply, forgetting to smear away the rain that had dripped onto his hair. "I'm sorry too."

Ino shook her head, finding herself chuckle at how amazingly ridiculous they both appeared at the moment. Wordlessly she allowed Naruto to gently take a hold of her hand, linking his slender fingers with her small fist.

"You want to know the truth?" he watched her nod in silence

"The truth is…" Naruto lifted his chin and for the first time in a very long time, there was no humor in his eyes. "I don't love Sakura. The truth is it'll never happen." he sighed, heavy heartedly, taking a passing glance at a side before turning back, "I'm sorry I put you through so much crap." he chuckled lightly, peering down at his drenched clothes. "I'm sorry we're wet and hungry and have no idea where we're at."

"..." she pressed her forehead against his, lowering her gaze towards their now linked hands. Interestingly enough the rain gradually dwindled into soft drizzles faster than she had expected. She stared into the dark center of his pupil, a bit surprised how earnest he has sounded. Perhaps, for the first time, there was no mask of arrogance in his demeanor, just a smile; one appealing smile that had Ino smiling back.

His breathing tickled her nose as she stood only centimeters away from his face. There was a long pause afterwards, when she found herself staring. She felt herself needing something to say but she didn't know whether it was appropriate timing. When she saw how attentive Naruto seemed, she couldn't help but blurt out.

"I'm a train wreck, Naruto."

"That's okay." he nodded, followed by an amused grin.

"No, I mean I'll drive you crazy, you wouldn't be able to take it."

"No?" Naruto chuckled, a slight scowl forming on his lips. "I already have."

And so, he seized the moment. He quickly yanked onto her arm, bringing her close as he forcefully pressed his lips onto her. He cupped her chin, ignoring the pitter patters of rain that only slapped onto the top of head. At the end of this sloppy kiss he pulled back, only to gaze at the softly flushed Ino.

"I did that because you're Ino and that is the only reason why."

She leaned in for a brief kiss, when pulling back Naruto wiped at the raindrop trailing from under her eye, "Thank you." she whispered gently, her words heard faintly against the sounds of rain.


End file.
